A Sociology of Reuse: Deconstructing the Milk Bottle
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Abstract This article investigates the practice of reuse, the relation between individuals and objects, using as a case study the refillable glass milk bottle. Based on interviews with 22 individuals in mainly rural settings, the study aims to understand what the milk bottle means today to the many people who still use it, and what the socioeconomic and other structures are that sustain this kind of product reuse. The discussion exposes the way that reuse is about both consumption and disposal and is maintained by a web of household practices, revealing the milk bottle as both a site of resistance to supermarkets and a site for the construction of collective and individual identities. We also expose the way that the materiality of the bottle enables myth and trust to be articulated. We conclude that this reuse practice is a form of non‐market mediated exchange, marking reciprocal relations of care and trust.
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This can motivate product stewardship through careful handling and return of shared products for the benefit of the successive reuser.
“This can motivate product stewardship through careful handling and return of shared products for the benefit of the successive reuser [32,60].”
From Characterisation and environmental value proposition of reuse models for fast-moving consumer goods: reusable packaging and products (2021) · cites this paper as [32]
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References 33 · Cited by 35
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- Authors
- Vaughan, P., Cook, M., & Trawick, P.
- Affiliations
- Cranfield University (GB)
- ORCID
- Cook, Matthew
- Venue
- Sociologia Ruralis
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2007-04
- Volume
- 47
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 120-134
- ISSN
- 0038-0199 (ISSN-L)
- 1467-9523
- OpenAlex
- W2145993948
- Cited by
- 35
- References
- 33
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 1 · 2015: 1 · 2013: 1 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 1.68
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Sociologia Ruralis (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Waste Management and Disposal › Waste Management and Recycling
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law › Environmental Education and Sustainability
- Social Sciences › Anthropology › Cross-Cultural and Social Analysis
- Keywords
- reuse, household practices, consumption, disposal, identity construction, materiality, trust, non-market exchange, care, rural households
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