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METHOD:PUBLISH
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20250929T100108Z
DTSTART:20251006T140000Z
DTEND:20251006T160000Z
SUMMARY:Declan Murray (University of Manchester) The Plastic Divide: Glob
 al environmentalism and the search for life in Dar es Salaam\, Tanzania
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DESCRIPTION:On 1 June 2019 plastic bags were banned in Tanzania. The ban 
 was driven by a global environmentalist narrative that plastic bags harm
  marine life and livestock\; contribute to flooding events\; and produce
  unsightly litter. Five years later\, small polyethylene pouches remaine
 d integral to daily life for the majority of residents in Tanzania’s big
 gest city\, Dar es Salaam. Over 11 months of ethnographic fieldwork\, re
 sidents\, retailers and manufacturers all spoke positively of the role p
 lastic bags play in their “search for life” in the city. This article in
 troduces ‘The Plastic Divide’ as a way to understand the effects of the 
 plastic bag ban in Tanzania. The Plastic Divide falls largely on class l
 ines: between urban poor and middle/ruling class. Despite originally eme
 rging from the Global South\, blanket moves to ban plastics bring greate
 r harm to the poorest who are most reliant on plastics and are least abl
 e to access alternatives.\n\nDeclan Murray is a Research Associate in So
 cial Anthropology at the University of Manchester\, UK. Declan’s researc
 h looks at material flows\, geomorphology and regulation in Eastern Afri
 ca. Declan is currently working on a UKRI-funded project called “High-ri
 se landscapes: The afterlives of tower block ‘failure’ and rethinking ur
 ban futures”. In that project Declan has been following how quality is u
 nderstood\, tested and demonstrated in the concrete economy of Nairobi\,
  Kenya. Previously Declan has worked on plastic packaging in Tanzania an
 d solar power in Kenya. Declan’s first book: “The Repair Mindset: How to
  fix off-grid solar power in Kenya” will be published by Bristol Univers
 ity Press in 2026.
STATUS:TENTATIVE
TRANSP:TRANSPARENT
CLASS:PUBLIC
LOCATION:Boardroom (2.016-17)\, Arthur Lewis Building\, Manchester
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