In Turku, art and creativity offer new ways to inspire better biowaste sorting

Turku is exploring how art, design and creative methods can encourage people to sort their biowaste more effectively. As part of an idea competition organised through the Creative Circular Cities (CCC) project, two concepts have been selected for further development: BioBox, an interactive installation illustrating the composting process, and the Biowaste Oracle, a visual card-based tool designed to support learning and discussion around biowaste sorting.

Over the coming months, the Southwest Finland Waste Management (LSJH) and the CCC project will work with the selected teams to develop the two concepts further. The winning proposals were chosen from 34 submissions received from across Finland.

Making composting visible

BioBox, developed by a working group led by Kaisa Nurminen, proposes an artistic biowaste container for public spaces. Its transparent walls would allow people to observe the composting process and gain a better understanding of what happens to biowaste after it is sorted.

The Biowaste Oracle, developed by Anniina Pohjola, takes a different approach. Using a set of visual cards, the concept aims to make learning about biowaste sorting more engaging while encouraging conversation and reflection around everyday sorting practices.

Both teams will receive a €3,000 grant from Humak University of Applied Sciences. The concepts will be developed in collaboration with LSJH, with the results due to be presented in October 2026. Following the development phase, LSJH will have the opportunity to continue developing and implementing one or both concepts.

Creativity as a driver for everyday change

The competition is part of the Creative Circular Cities project, which explores how artists, designers and other creative practitioners can contribute to changing everyday practices and advancing the circular economy.

Biowaste is an important part of this challenge: according to Eurostat, it accounts for 28.8% of municipal waste in the EU. Finding engaging ways to support better sorting can therefore contribute to broader efforts to reduce waste and make better use of resources.

“In this competition, it will be inspiring to see how the climate strategy really materialises in the hands of people,” says Markus Suomi, Lecturer at Humak University of Applied Sciences.

The CCC project has already tested creative approaches to the circular economy in Turku. These have included an idea incubator bringing together artists, businesses and circular economy experts, as well as resident-led circular economy experiments. A pilot organised by Valonia in two residential areas brought together more than 1,000 participants across over 30 events.

Creative Circular Cities is co-funded by the Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme and the European Union. Alongside Turku, the project brings together partners from Aarhus, Gdynia, Kiel, Riga and Tallinn to explore how creativity and collaboration can help accelerate the transition towards more circular cities.

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