Hervé Corvellec
Professor
Towards clean material cycles: Is there a policy conflict between circular economy and non-toxic environment?
Author
Summary, in English
Lately, the idea of ‘non-toxic’ (or ‘clean’) material cycles has become increasingly popular as a starting point for the consideration of circular economy strategies among leading regulating actors, such as the European Commission (2017). However, it should be apparent that, by default, circular economy aspirations awaken a potential policy conflict between increased circulation of resources and reduction of exposure to hazardous substances (human- and eco-toxic substances of concern). Here, we build upon the great tradition of Waste Management & Research editorials on the topic debated, and not least on the recent opinion piece by Stanisavljevic and Brunner (2019). We argue that non-toxic material cycles are indeed a desirable vision, but that they will not come naturally in a world of circulated material resources – at least not without major supply chain disruptions and persistent conscious efforts. Let us elaborate.
Department/s
- Department of Service Studies
Publishing year
2020-07-01
Language
English
Pages
705-707
Publication/Series
Waste Management & Research
Volume
38
Issue
7
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Topic
- Business Administration
Keywords
- Waste
- Circular Economy
Status
Published
Project
- Relations in Circular Business Models
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 0734-242X