TY - JOUR
T1 - Transition to a Sustainable Circular Plastics Economy in The Netherlands
T2 - Discourse and Policy Analysis
AU - Friant, Martin Calisto
AU - Lakerveld, Dirkjan
AU - Vermeulen, Walter J.V.
AU - Salomone, Roberta
N1 - Funding Information:
This article constitutes part of the outcomes of the CRESTING (Circular Economy: Sustainability implications and guiding progress) project, funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 765198.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2022/1
Y1 - 2022/1
N2 - The circular economy (CE) has become a key sustainability discourse in the last decade. The Netherlands seeks to become fully circular by 2050 and the EU has set ambitious circularity targets in its CE Action Plan of 2015. The plastics sector, in particular, has gained a lot of attention as it is a priority area of both the EU and Dutch CE policies. However, there has been little research on the different and often contested discourses, governance processes and policy mechanisms guiding the transition to a circular economy and society. This paper aims to fill these gaps by asking what circular discourses and policies are being promoted in the Netherlands and what sustainability implications and recommendations can be drawn from it. It does so through a mix of media analysis, policy analysis, semi-structured interviews, and surveys using Q-methodology. Results indicate a dominance of technocentric imaginaries, and a general lack of discussion on holistic, and transformative visions, which integrate the full social, political, and ecological implication of a circular future. To address those challenges, this research brings key policy insights and recommendations which can help both academics and practitioners better understand and implement the transition towards a sustainable circular plastics economy.
AB - The circular economy (CE) has become a key sustainability discourse in the last decade. The Netherlands seeks to become fully circular by 2050 and the EU has set ambitious circularity targets in its CE Action Plan of 2015. The plastics sector, in particular, has gained a lot of attention as it is a priority area of both the EU and Dutch CE policies. However, there has been little research on the different and often contested discourses, governance processes and policy mechanisms guiding the transition to a circular economy and society. This paper aims to fill these gaps by asking what circular discourses and policies are being promoted in the Netherlands and what sustainability implications and recommendations can be drawn from it. It does so through a mix of media analysis, policy analysis, semi-structured interviews, and surveys using Q-methodology. Results indicate a dominance of technocentric imaginaries, and a general lack of discussion on holistic, and transformative visions, which integrate the full social, political, and ecological implication of a circular future. To address those challenges, this research brings key policy insights and recommendations which can help both academics and practitioners better understand and implement the transition towards a sustainable circular plastics economy.
KW - Circular economy
KW - Circular society
KW - Discourse analysis
KW - Environmental governance
KW - Extended producer responsibility
KW - Plastics
KW - Policy analysis
KW - Polymer
KW - Recycling
KW - Sustainability
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85121810860&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/su14010190
DO - 10.3390/su14010190
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85121810860
SN - 2071-1050
VL - 14
SP - 1
EP - 32
JO - Sustainability (Switzerland)
JF - Sustainability (Switzerland)
IS - 1
M1 - 190
ER -