#shadowplaces

My toilet is designed and manufactured by a company called Caroma. The company was established in 1941 and introduced the first dual flush system. The tiny orange label is situated at the center of the toilet bowl. The person who made the toilet is unknown to me, however the company manufactures are outside of Australia. This highlights that I have become dematerialized form the process of who is making toilets, and what materials were used. I have become dematerialized from the process even though this product is central to my livelihood.

Plumwood’s  (2008) concept of shadowplaces unpacks a notion that we become disengaged or dematerialized with the materials that surround us. This includes the process of recycling waste and the physical labours that make this process of recycling possible. Hamilton (2015) suggest that labour, especially physical labour, has become a shadowplace. We see this by looking at our toilets. I don’t know the plumbers who installed my toilet, or the pipes that take away my waste. I don’t know the people that look after and recycle MY waste.