Reviewing waste, value, and inequality: ‘Waste of a Nation’ in context

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After the Single Use researcher Akhilesh Bonthu has published a book review in 'Reviews in Anthropology' on Assa Doron and Robin Jeffrey’s ‘Waste of a Nation: Garbage and Growth in India’ (2018).

The review situates the book’s analysis of waste, value, and infrastructure within ongoing debates about plastic pollution and healthcare waste. While written prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Bonthu highlights the continued relevance of Doron and Jeffrey’s work in understanding the rapid expansion of plastic waste, including from the healthcare sector.

Engaging anthropological and historical perspectives, the book examines how waste in India is shaped by social, political, and economic forces, including caste, urbanisation, and consumer capitalism. Bonthu draws attention to the authors’ focus on the relationships between people, places, and materials, offering a framework for understanding how waste is produced, managed, and contested.

Bonthu, A. (2026). Waste of a Nation: Garbage and Growth in India: by Assa Doron and Robin Jeffrey, Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 2018. Reviews in Anthropology, 1–4. https://doi.org/10.1080/00938157.2026.2614289