Future-proofing capitalism: the paradox of the circular economy for plastics

Mah, A. (2021) Future-proofing capitalism: the paradox of the circular economy for plastics. Global Environmental Politics, 21(2), pp. 121-142. (doi: 10.1162/glep_a_00594)

Abstract

The marine plastics crisis sparked a wave of corporate interest in the circular economy, a sustainable business model that aims to eliminate waste in industrial systems through recycling, reduction, reuse, and recovery. Drawing on debates about the role of corporations in global environmental governance, this article examines the rise of the circular economy as a dominant corporate sustainability concept, focusing on the flagship example of the circular economy for plastics. It argues that corporations across the plastics value chain have coordinated their efforts to contain the circular economy policy agenda, while extending their markets through developing risky circular economy technologies. These corporate strategies of containment and proliferation represent attempts to “future-proof” capitalism against existential threats to public legitimacy, masking the implications for environmental justice. The paradox of the circular economy is that it seems to offer radical challenges to linear “take-make-waste” models of industrial capitalism, backed by international legislation, but it does not actually give up on unsustainable growth. We need to tackle the plastics crisis at its root, dramatically reducing the global production of toxic and wasteful plastics.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (grant agreement 639583) and the Leverhulme Trust.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Mah, Professor Alice
• Authors: Mah, A.
• Subjects: H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General); J Political Science > JA Political science (General)
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Urban Studies
• Journal Name: Global Environmental Politics
• Publisher: MIT Press
• ISSN: 1526-3800
• ISSN (Online): 1536-0091
• Published Online: 15 April 2021
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2021 by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• First Published: First published in Global Environmental Politics 21(2):121-142
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons license