Waste Prevention and Minimisation in Western Consumer Behaviour: Is It Attainable?

Abstract

By delving into the waste crisis in Western hyperconsumerist societies as an analytical case study, this study advances an actionable theory of minimalism to address systemic overproduction and overconsumption. Drawing on the interdisciplinary literature, the study analyses the structural, cultural, and psychological drivers of waste generation, synthesising critiques of hypercapitalism and hyperhedonism into a unified theoretical framework that exposes systemic lock-ins and the conflation of wants with socially legitimised needs. In response, the study develops a minimalist ethics framework that repositions sufficiency as a guiding principle for systemic transformation. Minimalism is conceptualised not as an individual restraint but as a multidimensional governance strategy capable of informing economic, technical/technological, regulatory, ecological, and cultural interventions to effectively tackle the waste crisis in Western hyperconsumerist societies.