Reduce, Reuse, Recyle. Pauline is finding ways to close the loop.

My research concerns the challenges of how environmental issues are integrated into other priorities which are fundamental for sustainability. It raises questions of political choice framed against social, economic, geographic and historical context. My focus has been resource efficiency initiatives, which are important not just to reduce the rate of use of finite resources, but are also associated with reductions in energy use and carbon emissions and waste produced. This has the potential to make important contributions to tackling climate change and pollution issues locally and globally.

The circular economy is an approach to extracting maximum value from resources and minimising waste by designing products and production-consumption systems with that in mind. Strategies such as re-use, resale, repair, remanufacturing and recycling are involved to capture products, or at least their constituent materials, at the end of an ownership cycle. That is, because the current owner no longer wants or needs something, that does not need to mark the ‘end of life’ for the item, which might be useful to someone else.

There is a potential impact on both policy and research. A message for policymakers is the need for consideration and collaboration across scales as well as between sectors, followed by rigorously enforced regulations. For academics and policymakers, there should be a removal of false expectations, such as competitive advantages for places based on circular economy activities. Additionally, the assumption of social benefits from a circular economy needs to be critically addressed.

Job opportunities may arise, for example, but these may be economically marginal, for example working as a self-employed repairer. Third-sector organisations make extensive use of circular economy strategies both to raise funds and to facilitate low-cost consumption. They provide useful support for disadvantaged communities, but they are interdependent with the mainstream economy, not an alternative that can easily be up-scaled to displace it.

Social issues need to be tackled in their own right and an important message is to be aware of the wider circumstances of the immediate issue being addressed. We should not forget to be critical in the interest of telling a positive story. A critical understanding gives a better chance of success.