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With the increasing conflicts among economic growth, environmental deterioration, and resource shortage, as an effective way to achieve the sustainable development and circular economy, the eco-industrial park gradually becomes a critical research issue in the field of recycling economy. In this paper, a hybrid framework for evaluating the comprehensive benefit of eco-industrial parks from the perspective of circular economy was proposed. Firstly, the evaluation index system for eco-industrial parks was constructed by employing the grey-Delphi method according to the opinions provided by experts from relevant fields, which includes economic benefit criteria, social benefit criteria, environmental benefit criteria, ecology industry construction criteria, and management level criteria, consisting of seventeen quantitative sub-criteria and nine qualitative sub-criteria. Secondly, in order to solve complicated, uncertain and ambiguous problems under the fuzzy background, a hybrid multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) approach was put forward on the basis of superiority linguistic ratings and entropy weight method for weight determination as well as fuzzy-VIKOR for ranking alternatives. Finally, the effectiveness and practicality of the proposed hybrid MCDM approach was demonstrated through a case analysis of six representative eco-industrial parks in China, and the comprehensive benefits of six eco-industrial parks were prioritized effectively. The hybrid MCDM approach in this paper presents a great potential in evaluating and ranking the comprehensive benefits of eco-industrial parks through solving complex and ambiguous problems in a fuzzy environment and varying MCDM tools. The evaluation findings by employing the proposed MCDM approach can provide references for the construction and management of eco-industrial parks and relevant policy formulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract European countries are attempting to promote sustainable development by transitioning from a linear to a circular economy, where waste is to be prevented and recycling activities are promoted. This paper studies the implementation of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) policies for the packaging waste in two later European adopter countries of waste management policies: Portugal and Spain. The main goal is to evaluate whether EPR policies in both countries have achieved their basic two goals: 1) reduction of waste, and 2) increase recycling activities. Two case-studies were built based on interviews made to main waste management stakeholders. The analysis shows that the implementation of the EPR policies have had a positive impact throughout the years in both countries. Regarding the waste reduction goal, the systems have still not been completely able to detach packaging waste production from economic growth, but they have been able to promote material usage reduction directly through the Green dot fee model adopted. Regarding the increasing of recycling activities, both countries have been able to increase such rates throughout the years, in the direction of the EU targets. Highlights • EPR policies implemented in Spain and Portugal are evaluated. • EPR policies have contributed to packaging waste reduction and increase recycling activities. • EPR policies are having a positive impact throughout the years in both countries. • Some challenges still need to be faced: eco-design promotion and packaging life-cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing importance of the concept of the circular economy as a way to attain sustainable development has encouraged scholars to propose different ways to understand it. Given the large number of studies done on the circular economy, their differing approaches and their multiple applications, this paper attempts to propose a consensus view of the basic notions of the circular economy framework and highlight its relationship with eco-innovation. To that end, this study carried out a systematic literature review that resulted in four main outputs: a knowledge map of the circular economy, an analysis of the main notions of the concept, principles, and determinants of a circular economy. Finally, this study brings to light some remarkable examples of eco-innovations developed for implementation in the circular economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Circular Economy (CE) has received considerable attention as an approach that promises to reconcile ecological systems and economic growth. In spite of its increased popularity, little is known about the implementation struggles of incumbent firms across industrial sectors. Furthermore, although the notion of circular production systems is at the intersection of different research areas such as sustainable product design, sustainable supply chains, and reverse logistics, knowledge on how these concepts combine to ease or impede firms' transition towards circularity is scarce. To shed light on these gaps, I used multiple case studies from Cradle to Cradle certified companies in the textile industry in Europe. By employing qualitative research, I identified a set of factors along the textile value chain, from product design to take-back and reprocessing, that are crucial in expediting or delaying a firm's aspirations to develop a circular product. The main contribution of this paper is the dynamic understanding of how certain collaborative supplier-buyer innovation factors (i.e., supply chain position, power balance, and a shared vision) coupled with complex aspects in product design, namely in basic materials, architecture, and functionality, combine to determine the output speed and quantity of circular products to be sold, taken back, and ultimately regenerated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]