Infrastructural citizenship in Circular Economy. Case studies from Finland

Kuvaus

European Union is striving towards a model of “Circular Economy”. The transformation of large infrastructures into a more circular economy requires not only technical systemic changes but also changes in the everyday practices and behaviours of citizens.

Although a long-term transition into a more sustainable society is likely to affect all areas of production and consumption, the majority of the current political measures and practical solutions aiming for a circular economy is targeted towards waste management.

In Finland, the institutional organization of waste management is highly dependent on households. The households are not only the main producers of municipal solid waste but are also made responsible for sorting and disposal of different waste materials. This makes citizens, with their individual waste practices, values, and habits, constitutive actors of waste infrastructures.

The ongoing sustainability transition puts pressure on municipalities and cities to further transform or even re-construct the existing waste infrastructures and, thus, also the waste habits of their citizens.

In this paper, we present two different case studies from northern Finland examining new waste citizenships in the making. Case 1) City of Rovaniemi as a pioneer of Arctic Circular Economy. This case scrutinizes the transformation of the infrastructure of Rovaniemi city into an “arctic circular economy” and explores the role of citizens in the scheme. 2) Bokashi-making as Counter-Waste citizenship. This case explores the marginal phenomenon of bokashi composting in Finland as a form of challenging and re-configuring established waste practices.

Aikajakso	15 huhtik. 2021
Tapahtuman otsikko	Waste and Society webinar series : DST/NRF/CSIR SARChI Chair – Waste and Society
Tapahtuman tyyppi	Seminaari
Sijainti	Cape Town, Etelä-AfrikkaNäytä kartalla
Vaikuttavuus / laajuus	Kansainvälinen