Abstract
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.
Highlights
The unsustainable accumulation of plastic waste has often been described as one of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time [1,2]
The EU has mandated the establishment of extended producer responsibility (EPR) systems to manage plastic packaging waste (Directive 2018/852)
These results indicate that both Dutch societal perspectives and public policies are dominated by Technocentric Circular Economy discourses
Summary
The unsustainable accumulation of plastic waste has often been described as one of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time [1,2]. Only about 9% of all plastic waste generated by humanity until 2015 has been recycled, the rest was either incinerated (12%) or ended up in landfills and the environment (79%) [4]. It is undeniable that plastics provide key benefits to global economies as they are cheap, versatile, multifunctional, and lightweight materials that often substitute the use of scarce resources and materials which often have higher environmental footprints [5]. They have valuable health and safety applications, such as protection from biohazards, preventing food contamination, ensuring access to clean water and sanitation, and securing the hygiene of medical devises, etc. Research has linked plastic production, use and pollution to various serious diseases including cancer [16,17,18], endocrine system disorders [18,19,20], reproductive
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