How can conflicts be handled in a circular economy?
To secure the supply of resources, a transition is needed from extracting resources from the Earth crust to improved utilization of the resources in the economy. In this research project, the politics of a circular economy is studied. What consequences, losers, winners and conflicts could be expected in a resource transition and how can they be managed?
Project name and number: Institutionella förutsättningar för en cirkulär ekonomi (300019)
Project leader: Nils Johansson, SEED
Participating universities/companies/organisations: KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Linköping University
Project period: 2018–2021
Financing: Formas
A resource transition from mining to circulation will greatly affect producers, customers and authorities. For example, increased recycling of minerals reduces the emissions of carbon dioxide, compared to taking the same material from the Earth’s crust. But the result from the recycling process, the material output is usually more contaminated than the corresponding material from the bedrock. This means that there is a policy conflict in a circular economy between recycling and use of substances of concern. Sewage sludge, holding both nutrients and contaminants, is a typical example of the inherent policy conflict in waste.
This project will address various actors that may be affected in a resource transition: waste producers, potential customers, local residents, officials and politicians. Who are the winners and losers in resource transition? Why does anyone want to use waste as raw material instead of the conventional materials? How are the complexity of waste and the policy conflicts handled in different countries?
Publications:
"Perspectives on Waste from the Social Sciences and Humanities. Opening the Bin", anthology, 2020
"Is this the end of end-of-waste? Uncovering the space between waste and products", article, 2020
"Mest skrämmande med halloween är plasten", debate article, 2019
"Gruvdrift eller återvinning av metaller? En politisk fråga", chapter in book, 2018
”How can conflicts, complexities and uncertainties in a circular economy be handled?", report, 2018
"Social and ecological entrepreneurship in a circular economy", book chapter, 2018
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