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Interrogating the Circular Economy: the Moral Economy of Resource Recovery in the EU

Gregson, N.; Crang, M.; Fuller, S.; Holmes, H.

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Authors

S. Fuller

H. Holmes



Abstract

The concept of the circular economy has gained increasing prominence in academic, practitioner and policy circles and is linked to greening economies and sustainable development. However, the idea is more often celebrated than critically interrogated. Analysis shows the concept circulates as an idea and ideal, exemplified by industrial symbiosis and extended product life. Yet, its actual enactment is limited and fragile. Instead, circular economies are achieved mostly through global recycling networks which are the primary means by which wastes are recovered as resources. European policies eschew these circuits. Resource recovery through global recycling networks is regarded as a dirty and illegal trade. In its place, EU circular economies attempt to transform wastes to resources within the boundaries of the EU. Through an analysis of two case studies of resource recovery in the UK, we highlight the challenges that confront making circular economies within the EU, showing that these are borne of a conjuncture of politically created markets, material properties and morally defined materials circuits. We show resource recovery in the EU to be framed by moral economies, driven by discourses of ecological modernisation, environmental justice and resource (in)security, the last of which connects to China’s resource-intensive development.

Citation

Gregson, N., Crang, M., Fuller, S., & Holmes, H. (2015). Interrogating the Circular Economy: the Moral Economy of Resource Recovery in the EU. Economy and Society, 44(2), 218-243. https://doi.org/10.1080/03085147.2015.1013353

Journal Article Type Article
Online Publication Date Apr 22, 2015
Publication Date Apr 1, 2015
Deposit Date Nov 12, 2014
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Economy and Society
Print ISSN 0308-5147
Electronic ISSN 1469-5766
Publisher Taylor and Francis Group
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 44
Issue 2
Pages 218-243
DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/03085147.2015.1013353
Keywords Circular economies, Recycling, Resource recovery, Anaerobic digestion, Waste.

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