Towards a Circular Bioeconomy? Pathways and Spatialities of Agri-Food Waste Valorisation

Abstract

The treatment of organic waste, by-products and other residual materials from bio-based industries is currently changing from disposing to recycling and reusing activities, which may create significant added values. However, these valorisation pathways as well as their institutional and geographical contexts are not yet sufficiently understood. From an actor-centric perspective, we seek to shed light on extant practices of agri-food waste valorisation using the examples of potato and rapeseed production in Lower Saxony, Germany. Drawing on conceptual thoughts on circular bioeconomies and the nexus approach, we will show that these practices not only depend on the availability of (technological) solutions but are affected by changing economic and political environments in combination with place-specific conditions and local networks. We further describe the cross-sectoral relations, synergies and externalities that come along with by-product valorisation in multi-use systems, while also revealing the fragile stability of circular bioeconomies that are linked to the food–feed–energy nexus.