Biowaste as fluid matter: Valuing biogas and biofertilisers as assets in the Finnish biogas sector

Abstract

In this article, we examine the effort of turning biowaste into an asset in the everyday practices of Finnish biogas plants. Drawing from social scientific waste studies as well as new materialist and posthumanist approaches, we approach biowaste as unruly, fluid matter inclined to leak and spill over and capable of affecting the possibilities of valuing it. Our analysis shows how biowaste resists the efforts to turn it into completely homogenous mass; how this mass has to be taken care of over the production process; and how it is not always clear whether the practices produce valuable assets or problematic excess. We argue that to better understand the possibilities for a transition towards a circular economy, it is important to acknowledge that the processing and valuing of waste does not offer complete control over it, but also requires careful alignment with waste material that does not always act as wished.