Sixteenth International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic & Social Sustainability

Abstract

This study explores the main existing ontological elements that emerged from residents’ discourses in San Buenaventura public housing complex located in the State of Mexico, Mexico. Residents had the opportunity to propose their own course of action, or strategies, as a potential solution to solve the waste pollution problem in communal areas through talks and gossip assigning moral positions onto things, institutions, other residents and onto themselves. The theoretical framework used in this study was based on two constructionist theories: positioning theory and site ontology. The results suggest that the participants assigned moral traits of responsibility to other residents regarding the problem of the neglect of the outdoors green areas and waste pollution problems as well as the lack of environmental education. Common threads of moral responsibility were assigned by the majority of the residents to four ontological elements of their socio-physical reality which were used to discursively construct a personal strategy to stop littering practices. These ontological elements were: a) Rubbish bins, b) Residents, c) Pets and d) and the local government.