The role of multilateral cooperation in the transition to a circular economy and low-carbon development: waste recycling associations as agents of change

Abstract

The article presents the results of a study of the activities and role of professional associations for recycling of production and consumption waste in connection with the start of Russia's transition to a circular economy and the implementation of the strategic federal project of the same name. A retrospective analysis of the development of the concept of “closed loop” over the past decades has been carried out in the context of the disposal of production and consumption waste and the formation of the concept of a circular economy. Specific institutional, cultural, and legal barriers are described that prevent the transition of the current economic system to sustainable cyclical patterns of production and consumption with the usage of secondary material resources in production. A classification of waste recycling associations is proposed based on information about the participants of associations and the functions they perform: associations of manufacturers and importers of goods and packaging within the framework of the implementation of extended producers’ responsibility standards, associations of waste recycling companies, associations of manufacturers and recycling companies, associations of complex partnerships. For each identified type of associations, a case example is described. Based on the analysis of the activities of foreign (USA, European Union (Netherlands), China, India) and national associations for waste management, as well as the International Solid Waste Association, which operates at the global level, via comparison of their organizational structure and legal framework, characteristic features for each type of associations are identified, as well as cooperative forms of interaction relevant for Russia. The key problems associated with the activities of waste recycling associations in Russia are described, as well as the prospects for the creation and transformation of such associations, taking into account the socio-economic development policy pursued in the country.