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This paper analyses household behaviour as response to changes in waste management systems. The paper discusses the results of a case study from Vellinge municipality (Sweden), where the introduction of separate food waste collection is thought to have a role in reducing the total amount of household waste and improving the sorting of packaging waste. The study relies on data from official waste statistics and a survey of 117 municipal residents focusing on households' perceptions, attitudes and self-reflected changes in waste sorting behaviour. The respondents mentioned the increased environmental awareness and the convenience of food waste sorting among the primary reasons for the perceived changes in personal waste sorting routines. The study also tested the significance of other variables, such as income, employment, economic activity, socio-demographics, infrastructure, waste tariffs, illegal dumping, and awareness raising campaigns. Most of the variables were static and none showed sufficient correlation to the observed reduction of waste collection rates and the improvements in sorting other waste fractions. The analysed case had particularly high income levels, which were the main dynamic variable under study. The analysis suggests that we may be observing an example of a decoupling between economic growth and waste generation rates. This observation is explained by the Kuznets phenomena and it is being discussed in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transition to a circular economy relies on systems that facilitate waste recovery and recirculation of resources. These systems are based on certain enabling technologies. The aim of this paper is to explain how socio-economic structures influence the diffusion of such technologies. It applies a framework built on societal embedding and varieties of capitalism to compare the diffusion of anaerobic digestion (AD) in Sweden in northern Europe and Paraná in southern Brazil. Both Sweden and Paraná have experienced accelerated diffusion of AD, but there are significant differences in the respective diffusion patterns. The comparative analysis points to a tradeoff between system complexity and speed of diffusion. It illustrates how AD can be presented as a solution to various problems, and it further shows how the specific problems that gain attention shape diffusion patterns. By showing how socio-economic structures influence the appointment of problem owners, their agency, and legitimate forms of institutional support, the analysis demonstrates how economic systems condition technology diffusion. • The paper compares the diffusion of anaerobic digestion in Sweden and Paraná. • It shows how socio-economic structures have shaped diffusion patterns. • There is to a trade-off between sociotechnical system complexity and speed of diffusion. • Economic systems condition the diffusion of key technologies for a circular economy. • Analyses of recirculation potential must consider socio-economic structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fashion industry is one of the most wasteful consumer industries in the world. Through the advent of fast fashion – trendy, low-cost clothing produced by global fashion brands – clothing has evolved from a durable good to a daily purchase. In recent years, the concept of the circular economy, a framework for a more efficient, closed-loop economy, has emerged as a key way forward in the transition to a more sustainable and less wasteful fashion industry. This paper investigates how the Swedish fashion industry has implemented circular economy principles. Drawing on interviews with the founders, CEOs, and/or brand sustainability managers of 19 Swedish fashion brands, this article maps circular economy strategies across key stages: take, make, and waste. Crucially, for the fashion industry to move towards circularity, this paper argues that brands must integrate these strategies across supply chains, rather than limiting them to the waste stage. The analysis explores the gaps between circular economy principles and practice, identifying challenges inherent in fashion brand approaches. It concludes with recommendations for further study of the circular economy and the fashion industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a top-down method for constructing databases of industrial waste generation profiles is presented. The method employs routinely reported statistical data for economic activities, which enables simple data acquisition and ensures capture of changes in production processes and waste generation. Quantified waste generation profiles following the EWC-stat nomenclature for 42 waste types were compiled into two EU databases, one for 12 sectors and the other for more than 200 industries. These were complimented with quantified factors on waste generation per employee for each sector. The relationship between amounts of waste generated and number of employees has been confirmed for each sector with statistical tests; this can be used to estimate waste quantities in other scenarios. The databases employ standard EU economic and waste nomenclatures, which are also similar to those used worldwide. Potential use scenarios include: evaluation of different geographic boundaries, such as industrial park, municipal, regional or national level; focus on expected types and quantities of waste generated by particular sectors and industries; or targeting particular types of wastes, the economic activities that produce them and the quantities generated. The latter scenario is illustrated in this paper by exploring potential for industrial symbiosis where waste streams from bio-based industries are used to produce biogas in the Västra Götaland region of Sweden. The developed method and databases could support the implementation of circular economy policies, including industrial symbiosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]