Exposing
our waste
For almost ten years, Bénédicte Florin and Pascal Garret have been using their research and photos taken in the field to create exhibitions for the general public and raise awareness about waste issues. The two researchers have already planned to hold an exhibition at the end of the program that will showcase their work carried out as part of the PEPR Recycling program.
By Etienne Morisseau
One of the stated objectives of the PEPR Recycling program is to offer scientific mediation initiatives to communicate with the general public. Several members of the program have already expressed their willingness to take charge of this type of initiative, such as Bénédicte Florin and Pascal Garret, members of the program’s social and human sciences (SHS) axis.
From the beginning of the project, the goal was clear: to design an exhibition based on the results of their research. “We can’t just participate in conferences or publish in scientific journals. We have to go further and reach out to the general public,” says Pascal Garret, sociologist and photographer. An expert in imagery, Pascal Garret takes advantage of his fieldwork to document the subjects he studies through photos and videos. Together with Bénédicte Florin, a geography professor and researcher at the University of Tours, the two scientists have made a habit of creating exhibitions based on their work. Since 2016, they have been involved in developing exhibitions, including two at the MUCEM, in collaboration with other researchers in the social sciences and humanities.
Firstly, “La mise en image du rebut” (The Visualization of Waste) in 2016, organized by members of the SUD network (Sociétés Urbaines et Déchets, or Urban Societies and Waste). This first exhibition was the result of discussions between scientists (geographers, sociologists, anthropologists, etc.) and a pooling of research photos, presenting women and men who make a living from working with waste in some 20 countries around the world. No candid shots or staged scenes were used, as the aim was to avoid a miserabilist or aestheticized view of the subject and to reflect these workers’ desire for recognition.
They then participated in the exhibition project “Vies d’ordures” (Lives of Garbage) in 2017 at the MUCEM, contributing surveys and data collected from waste collectors in Casablanca and Istanbul. In 2022, they designed the exhibition “Voyage au cœur de nos poubelles” (Journey to the Heart of Our Trash) in collaboration with the City of Tours, which follows the journey of our waste after we throw it in the trash, using various media, including video. Then in 2023, again with the MUCEM, the exhibition “Barvalo” on the Romani people; a particularly memorable adventure due to the collaborative setup that brought together representatives of these communities and scientists in its committee of experts.
These experiences have enabled them to understand the challenges of scientific mediation. What to show and how to show it? Which format is best suited to reaching the widest audience? “We had to learn as we went along to simplify our message and focus on the essentials in order to make it more accessible,” explains Bénédicte Florin. Within the PEPR’s SHS (social and human sciences) axis (the “SORRYL” project), Pascal and Bénédicte are studying the actors and professional practices of recyclers in the scrap metal industry, from formal and informal collection to secondary raw materials. “It’s still a little early to talk about the content of the exhibition, but we want to test different approaches, mixing media, photos, videos, structures… And then we can also involve other members of SORRYL who have expressed an interest in this project,” explains Pascal Garret.
In the meantime, other initiatives are already being put in place, such as the exhibition in December 2025 of around forty very large-format photos, accompanied by texts and sounds on the walls of the Napoleon barracks on Rue de Rivoli in Paris, with the aim of highlighting recycling workers. Subsequently, several other exhibitions are expected to take place in the PEPR’s totem sites.
The PEPR’s totem sites
Sites labeled “PEPR Recycling Totem Sites” are regional versions of PEPR’s outreach activities. These totem sites, which can be hosted by universities, schools, or businesses, are spaces for exchange, mediation, and training, spread throughout the country and organized around the program’s main themes.
Some partners have already taken up the project, such as the University of Le Mans, where the rudology (the study of waste and its disposal) totem site has emerged. The team of researchers behind this initiative, in partnership with the university, already organized an interdisciplinary study day in mid-October on the environmental impacts of plastic waste.
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