Knowledge Agora



Similar Articles

Title The circular economy of food waste: Transforming waste to energy through 'make-up' work
ID_Doc 2466
Authors Holmberg, T; Ideland, M
Title The circular economy of food waste: Transforming waste to energy through 'make-up' work
Year 2021
Published Journal Of Material Culture, 26, 3
Abstract This article unpacks the neat straightforwardness of the 'waste regime' of the circular economy of food waste and its main idea: 'waste as resource'. It explores the making of circularity by paying detailed attention to what is conceptualized as 'make-up' work, i.e. how interruptions and leaks along waste flows are handled in practice. Make-up work capitalizes on its double meaning. First, it highlights the covering of cracks needed in order to transform waste to energy. Second, make-up work pinpoints that the neatness of circularity is far from a straightforward technical system, but is continuously made. Through an interview-based study in Sweden, the article illuminates three steps of transformation of food waste into the commodity of biogas, analysing the material and cultural transformations, showing that the micro-management of preventing such interruptions is crucial. Problems such as lack of or misfit material, difficulties in sorting the substrate effectively, over/underproduction of gas and the political decisions steering the conditions for supply and demand are equally crucial and pose the threat that the production will be viewed as inefficient. Based on these results, the article emphasizes the need to problematize the paradigm of the circular economy and the zero-waste regime, on the one hand, and to recognize the work involved in striving for a sustainable society, on the other.
PDF https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/13591835211002555

Similar Articles

ID Score Article
5267 Abrahamsson, S A defense of waste: the case of municipal food recycling in Sweden(2023)Environmental Sociology, 9, 1
639 Tarhini, M; Turcea, VC; Zapucioiu, LF; Ion, RA Food Waste Status And Reduction Through The Circular Economy(2022)Scientific Papers-Series Management Economic Engineering In Agriculture And Rural Development, 22, 4
28868 Alonso-Muñoz, S; García-Muiña, FE; Medina-Salgado, MS; González-Sánchez, R Towards circular economy practices in food waste management: a retrospective overview and a research agenda(2022)British Food Journal, 124.0, 13
965 Ouro-Salim, O; Guarnieri, P Circular economy of food waste: A literature review(2023)Environmental Quality Management, 32, 2
28596 He, PJ; Lü, F; Zhang, H; Shao, LM Recent Developments in the Area of Waste as a Resource, with Particular Reference to the Circular Economy as a Guiding Principle(2013)
28918 Teigiserova, DA; Hamelin, L; Thomsen, M Towards transparent valorization of food surplus, waste and loss: Clarifying definitions, food waste hierarchy, and role in the circular economy(2020)
2258 Elroi, H; Zbigniew, G; Agnieszka, WC; Piotr, S Enhancing waste resource efficiency: circular economy for sustainability and energy conversion(2023)
7141 Mak, TMW; Xiong, XN; Tsang, DCW; Yu, IKM; Poon, CS Sustainable food waste management towards circular bioeconomy: Policy review, limitations and opportunities(2020)
272 Tamasiga, P; Miri, T; Onyeaka, H; Hart, A Food Waste and Circular Economy: Challenges and Opportunities(2022)Sustainability, 14, 16
971 Van Caneghem, J; Van Acker, K; De Greef, J; Wauters, G; Vandecasteele, C Waste-to-energy is compatible and complementary with recycling in the circular economy(2019)Clean Technologies And Environmental Policy, 21, 5
Scroll