ABSTRACT
Serious concerns for the governance of wastes, resources and energy appeared in the 1960s and 1970s via industrial ecology, a new practice-led, systems approach. More recent discussions centre on ‘circular economy’ (CE) principles. This practical guidance on reducing waste by closing material loops has been gaining traction with public and private actors. Data indicates that the pressure on resources is still increasing. CE concepts, however, when considered beyond their practice origins, remain in their infancy. CE policy analysis depends upon the theoretical assumptions made about the causal relationships involving agency and structure. Who chooses to buy-in to particular policy options will, in turn, impact upon how normative moves towards CE practice unfolds over time as it is scaled up, i.e. there are different transition pathways to be pursued by different networks of public and private waste and resource actors. In the analysis of the becoming of CE practice, academics continue to play ‘catch up’ as they theorise this new (and yet simultaneously old) governance territory. Much of the most recent research points to the useful beginnings of different perspectives being used to contest what a CE can and should be – and why.
