"As the world's most dynamic economy drowns in its detritus, what do we make of the state's green dreams? Powerfully written and brimming with insights, Circular Ecologies reveals the devalued work beneath the fantasy of a circular economy and the potentials of grassroots collectivities. So much to be gleaned here." —Timothy K. Choy, University of California, Davis
"How are ecological cities imagined and made? How do they create new communities, new solidarities, and unexpected human and more-than-human collaborations? Focusing on the megacity of Guangzhou, Amy Zhang masterfully addresses these and other questions by tracking waste as both material and socio-political process. We follow her to incinerators, landfills, and dumps, to public government meetings and citizen protests. Through rich ethnographic detail and brilliant storytelling, Circular Ecologies show us how waste is never too far from matters of life and death. It will be read, shared, and debated across multiple disciplinary spaces- urban studies, discard studies, infrastructure studies, and the environmental humanities. Circular Ecologies should be read by anyone interested not only in the future of China, but in the future of the planet." —Ralph Litzinger, Duke University
"A rare, intimate look at everyday environmental activism and waste management in contemporary urban China, where decades of economic growth have given rise to a massive consumer waste crisis. This compelling ethnographic account details how local activists formed unlikely coalitions to contest technocratic – and unsafe – approaches to waste management. Zhang's vivid and eloquent writing uncovers the logics and strategies driving grassroots environmental activism under authoritarian conditions. More broadly, this book offers crucial reading for anyone concerned about the human costs of common technological solutions to today's environmental problems." —Melissa Checker, Queens College
"A thoroughly enjoyable, accessible and stimulating read, Circular Ecologies will be of interest to advanced scholars but should also be essential reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students of contemporary China, anthropology and discard studies, as well as sustainability, environmentalism, and science and technology studies."—Anna Lora-Wainwright, China Quarterly
"Through its engaging narrative and thick descriptions of on-the-ground practices of waste work and formation of grassroots collectives in response to China's authoritarian environmentalism,Circular Ecologiesmakes an invaluable contribution to the scholarships of political ecology, environmental governance, labour practices, and urban dynamics in and beyond China."—Ran Mei, Urban Studies
"By focusing on the materiality of waste and labors of the human and non-human actors involved, Circular Ecologies updates anthropological understanding about how environmental issues are negotiated and re-imagined in contemporary China and, in doing so, enriches current debates on labor, ecology, and governance."—Shulan Sun, Exertions
