Waste: inevitable evil, avoidable curse, or precious resource?

Waste: inevitable evil, avoidable curse, or precious curse?

• The multiple sides of waste

  6 February 2025 | 18:00 - 19:30 | HG-14A00 (VU main building)

  This lecture will offer a first introduction to the different scientific approaches to waste and will then zoom in on the management of household waste in the city of Surabaya (Indonesia). Is waste seen as a serious problem, a non-issue, merely an eyesore or an opportunity?

  This lecture is given by Freek Colombijn. Read more and register here.

• What to do with sacred waste? Some conceptual, methodological and practical considerations

  20 February 2025 | 18:00 - 19:30 | HG-14A00 (VU main building)

  What analytical value is added by understanding certain things/material/stuff as instances of sacred waste? When does 'matter' appear as sacred and waste at the same time? How to understand the practices or circumstances through which sacred waste may be generated? 

  This lecture is given by Irene Stengs. Read more and register here.

• The health risks of chemical and plastic pollution

  CANCELED. New date TBA

  Plastic and synthetic chemicals are useful, but they are contaminating our environment, food, homes, and bodies. This talk will explore evidence on human exposure to chemical pollutants and micro- and nanoplastics, their health risks, and approaches to risk assessment. It will also address public perceptions of pollution-related risks and disparities in exposure and susceptibility.

  This lecture is given by Virissa Lenters. 

• Is post-separation of plastic recycling a solution for low cost-effectiveness?

  20 March 2025 | 18:00 - 19:30 | HG-14A00 (VU main building)

  In the Netherlands, plastic waste recycling is high on the policy agenda. Many efforts are taken mostly by home separation by residents. However, the cost effectiveness of plastic recycling versus incineration is very low. Based on evidence for the North of the Netherlands, post-separation has been identified as a viable alternative, which will be explored in greater detail in this lecture.

  This lecture is given by Raymond Gradus. Read more and register here.

• Who is responsible for waste and who should fix the food waste problem? (dual lecture)

  3 April 2025 | 18:00 - 19:30 | HG-14A00 (VU main building)

  Waste, like climate change, can be seen as a "responsibility problem." Corporations say that consumers demand their products and are not willing to buy waste-free alternatives, while individual consumers don't always see a choice. This talk will be about the question: who bears the primary responsibility for waste? 

  This lecture is given by Jan Willem Wieland.

  The world is currently going through a food waste crisis. Considering the growing population and declining natural resources, we really should be doing more to ensure that less food ends up in the bin. But who exactly is ‘we’ and how can they be convinced to waste less? This lecture will dive into questions such as who causes food waste and whose responsibility is it to fix the problem. 

  This lecture is given by Madhura Rao.

  Read more and register here.

• Amsterdam, archaeology of a waste-made landscape & the Amsterdam Can Collective (dual lecture)

  17 April 2025 | 18:00 - 19:30 | HG-14A00 (VU main building)

  The first part of this dual lecture explores the historical development of Amsterdam through the lens of waste management, from the 15th century onward. Despite early regulations, illegal dumping persisted until the city recognized the value of waste. With the 1585 First Extension, refuse became a crucial resource for large-scale land reclamation. The introduction of privies improved urban hygiene, while a circular system emerged—exporting waste as fertiliser to rural areas and importing sand for expansion.

  This lecture is given by Ranjith Jayasena.

  The introduction of the deposit system on soda cans in the Netherlands brings about new challenges. The streets seem more polluted than ever, residents are angry and point at the homeless community, deposit machines are often broken, and policymakers struggle to achieve a waste management infrastructure that covers up all this mess. But what is actually happening on the streets of Amsterdam? In the second part of the dual lecture, we will dive into the daily experience of the can collectors in Amsterdam, learn about their way of living, how they manage to survive from “trash” and their perceptions of the system.

  This lecture is given by Mara Voss. 

  Read more and register here.