Gradon Diprose

Using the 2017 myrtle rust ( Austropuccinia psidii ) incursion into Aotearoa New Zealand as a case study, we analysed media articles to examine how roles and responsibilities of actors are framed in the biosecurity system. We reveal a multi‐layered, evolving and uncertain biosecurity system. Ambiguity over leadership and responsibility in transitioning from ‘containment’ to ‘learning to live with myrtle rust’ created a vacuum which was filled by other biosecurity actors. Analysing media coverage of the incursion response highlighted the challenges associated with sharing responsibility for biosecurity and the need for more timely collaboration with and resourcing for non‐government biosecurity actors.

A more circular economy is framed as a way to counter the current ‘take‐make‐waste’ linear economy and its associated adverse effects, including pollution, waste, over‐consumption, biodiversity loss, and climate breakdown. Most circular economy literature focuses on technical transitions, material substitutions, and efficiencies. Consequently, there is less research on the significant social transitions needed and existing practices of circularity that communities already employ. We address this gap, using desk‐based reviews to identify existing communities of circular practice in Aotearoa New Zealand. We use transitions literature relating to scale to analyse these existing practices and suggest how they can be better supported.

‘Containing’ companion cats within property boundaries is a possible method to protect native species and promote cat welfare. We explore the more‐than‐human relations associated with cat containment in the area surrounding the Zealandia ecosanctuary. Even when owners are concerned about wildlife and want to restrict their cats' mobilities, they struggle to keep cats within property boundaries. Cats actively resist containment, and this is sometimes facilitated by the material and spatial features of homes and gardens. Understanding these interactions and taking more‐than‐human agency seriously could support multispecies flourishing in the borderlands of Zealandia and inform current debates surrounding responsible cat ownership.

Disasters can wreak havoc on food systems, triggering cascading negative impacts, particularly for people with the least resources to recover. While disaster risk reduction (DRR) guidance recognises that inequalities are compounded during disasters, critics suggest that much DRR practice still focuses on individual preparation unavailable to vulnerable people. We use examples from Aotearoa New Zealand to show how food rescue infrastructure performs important DRR functions that provide temporary food security for vulnerable groups. We highlight how food rescue could be strategically invested in as essential DRR infrastructure that enables place‐based food distribution in an increasingly disaster‐prone world.

While climate justice concerns are increasingly incorporated into policy at international scales, there is less research on climate justice and policy at local scales. Recognising how structural inequalities intersect with climate change influences how rights, responsibilities, distribution of resources and procedures for adaptation are understood and implemented. We describe how some local governments in Aotearoa New Zealand are using recognition practices to improve their understanding of the impacts of climate change, and re-allocating resourcing so mana whenua and communities are better able to participate in climate adaptation procedures. We suggest national policy and legislative changes that could support local governments’ climate justice recognition practices.

It has become increasingly clear that we cannot halt environmental destruction without radically changing economic practices. “Diverse economies” refers to a broad interconnected intellectual project that contributes to such a transformation in economies, but with a twist. Rather than proposing a new “economic system” and outlining the steps needed to get from one system to another, the diverse economies approach undertakes research to inventory and understand what kind of different economies and economic practices are already in play. For diverse economies scholars, the strategy for transformation is to start with what is already happening, and multiply possibilities for change. This is often referred to as a “postcapitalist” politics because it attempts to move the discussion of change from capitalist/noncapitalist binaries into a diversity of economic practices, which hold potential for recombination into community economies that better recognise the interdependencies of human and more-than-human life.

Aotearoa New Zealand is at a critical juncture in reducing and managing organic waste. Research has highlighted the significant proportion of organic waste sent to landfills and associated adverse effects such as greenhouse gas emissions and loss of valuable organic matter. There is current debate about what practices and infrastructure to invest in to better manage and use organic waste. We highlight the diversity of existing organic waste practices and infrastructures, focusing on Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. We show how debates about organic waste practices and infrastructure connect across three themes: waste subjectivities, collective action in place and language.

Interest in circular economy practices is increasing. A key material that connects the circular economy and wider environmental concerns is plastic waste, which poses environmental, climate, and human health risks. Single‐use plastic packaging is particularly problematic because it forms the largest share of the global plastics market, has a short life cycle, and has channelled investment towards the bottom of the waste hierarchy. Given single‐use plastic packaging is embedded in global trade, transitioning away from use requires much more than ‘behaviour change’ from individual producers and consumers. In this article we use social practice theory to show how social change is occurring with regard to single‐use plastics. We draw on two food retail case studies of (primarily) business‐to‐consumer packaging from Aotearoa New Zealand. We show how transitioning away from single‐use plastic food packaging requires (1) understanding the function and meaning of packaging materials, and (2) coordinating other materials, skills and meanings to re‐craft and substitute the functions that single‐use packaging performs across businesses, supply chains and consumers. Our analysis illustrates the significant collaboration and emerging networks needed for change, and signals how investment towards the top of the waste hierarchy in reuse could contribute to a more circular economy.

Managing unwanted pests and diseases is a growing concern. Recent shifts in state‐led biosecurity policy have seen a movement towards ‘shared responsibility’ between government, industry and communities. We use social practice theory to show how materials, skills and meanings come together to shape how people understand the spread of myrtle rust (Austropuccinia psidii), an unwanted disease in Aotearoa New Zealand. We show how ‘shared responsibility’ has emerged in the shift from a government‐led incursion response to myrtle rust, to passive disease reporting using iNaturalist. We offer a reflective aid to help biosecurity practitioners better consider participatory practices for plant health.