Transition to a Sustainable Circular Plastics Economy in The Netherlands: Discourse and Policy Analysis

Martin Calisto Friant, Dirkjan Lakerveld, Walter J. V. Vermeulen and Roberta Salomone
Additional contact information
Martin Calisto Friant: Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, 3508 TC Utrecht, The Netherlands
Dirkjan Lakerveld: Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, 3508 TC Utrecht, The Netherlands
Walter J. V. Vermeulen: Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, 3508 TC Utrecht, The Netherlands
Roberta Salomone: Department of Economics, University of Messina, 98122 Messina, Italy

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-32

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.

Keywords: circular economy; plastics; circular society; policy analysis; discourse analysis; extended producer responsibility; polymer; recycling; environmental governance; sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/1/190/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/1/190/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2021:i:1:p:190-:d:710948

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().