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The Legal Framework of Constructing and Operating Waste Disposal Site in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany

Misria

In Saxony-Anhalt, located in eastern Germany, the building and waste industry companies reap substantial profits thanks to the legislative and organizational framework governing the establishment and operation of waste disposal and recycling sites, such as landfills. To curtail state expenditures, German state agencies have reduced their staff with the expertise needed to evaluate proposed projects. Instead, they heavily rely on external evaluations conducted by experts closely connected to companies with a vested interest in securing ongoing contracts. While state agencies mandate oversight and safety measures, these responsibilities are delegated to the companies themselves. Only when concrete evidence, in the form of photos and videos, demonstrates that these companies are not fulfilling their obligations, do state agency employees step in to personally inspect the sites. Lastly, the approval of construction bids for waste disposal sites is typically granted unless there is substantial evidence of immediate harm to the environment or public health. In cases where the safety of the ground cannot be definitively ascertained, construction proceeds. Incomplete knowledge regarding geological factors or potential chemical reactions does not hold legal weight as an argument against waste disposal operations.

Baum, Philipp. 2023. "The Legal Framework of Constructing and Operating Waste Disposal Site in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany." In 4S Paraconference X EiJ: Building a Global Record, curated by Misria Shaik Ali, Kim Fortun, Phillip Baum and Prerna Srigyan. Annual Meeting of the Society of Social Studies of Science. Honolulu, Hawai'i, Nov 8-11.

Autoethnography of Industry

AKPdL

The environmental legacies left behind by industrial production are pervasive in the air, the soil, and the water. This elemental elixer surrounds us.

In the field of STS, it is perhaps obvious to suggest that institutions have cultures, norms, standards, and professional ways of being. Yet, what are we to make of the results of industry telling its own past publically. The corporate origin story could be a footnote in Joseph's Campbells work. The allure of the lone individual working tirelessly until an innovation is produced and the market takes over. 

Yet, the Wood River Refinery tells a different story. One about place, about people, about the terrible minutia of life lived within bureaucracy. Yes, the story told is glossy and teleological, but the question emerges. What can be learned about the stories industry tells about itself? What do these artifacts contribute to histories and what weight do we give to these stories within the Anthropocene?

The factory at Wood River is both a place where labor is maximized for profit, but also where worker devote 40 precious hours of their week. Lives persist and even thrive in the factory. Are the stories of these lives at Wood River?