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This study seeks to profile the shoppers' propensity to reuse shopping bags and the type of shopping bags they reuse on the basis of demographics. The study used an observation method to record the consumers' shopping habits and a short questionnaire to record the participants' demographics. A binary regression analysis and a multinomial regression analysis were used to analyse data. The results indicated that the mature aged, women, and low income shoppers were more likely to practice reuse of plastic shopping bags than their respective counterparts. There were no statistically significant differences in the likelihood of young aged shoppers compared to mature aged shoppers and low income shoppers compared to high income shoppers using cotton bags than plastic bags. There were also no statistically significant differences in the likelihood of young aged shoppers compared to mature aged shoppers and male shoppers compared to female shoppers using paper bags than plastic bags. However, the results indicated a statically significant result in how males compared to females differed in their using of cotton bags than plastic bags and a statistically significant result in how low income shoppers compared to high income shoppers differed in their use of paper bags than plastic bags. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Nazi Germany (1933–45), reclaiming waste became an intrinsic component of the regime's economy as well as its ideological, racial, and expansionist ambitions. National Socialist interventions into waste streams began in 1934 with salvage campaigns. The state then brought urban waste policies and municipal waste services under its control, restructuring and 'Aryanising' the waste salvage trade. Moreover, both consumers and producers were prompted to collect and reprocess waste. Over time, the gradual expansion of the Nazi waste recovery policies and campaigns – here referred to as the 'Nazi waste exploitation regime' – brought forth a determined vision of a circular economy in which no waste whatsoever should escape its reclamation for the national community or Volksgemeinschaft. This article sketches the actors, structures, and objectives of this waste exploitation regime for the case of rags and paper and uncovers its entanglement with Nazi racist and genocidal ideology and expansionism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental sustainability urgently needs to be embraced as a driver of development for society and industry. While researchers and practitioners herald numerous benefits when adopting eco-efficiency and circular economy approaches, these green solutions are yet to become pervasive principles for designing and operating industrial systems. This study reviews the last ten years of research contributions from the International Federation for Information Processing Working Group 5.7 (IFIP WG5.7) on Advances in Production Management Systems (APMS) through its dedicated annual conference. A systematic literature review method was employed to map the APMS conference papers against eco-efficiency principles and to identify how these principles have been addressed by this research community. A cross-thematic analysis further describes the trends around dominant themes in production research. Finally, the paper concludes with an update on eco-efficiency principles applied to manufacturing and a proposed framework to consider more systematically the environmental implications of advances in production research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although corporations have been propelled to adapt eco-innovation strategies including decent work practices, responsible consumption and production, and transition from linear economy to circular economy model to integrate natural ecosystems, businesses, and waste management, inversely, the actual impact of the circular economy implementation (CEI) in Ghana is yet to be felt. This paper aims to analyse the implications of corporate green culture (CGC) on CEI behaviour, and to design a model that explains the mediating roles of environmental innovativeness (EI) and green intellectual capital (GIC) on the relation between CGC and CEI behaviour from the perspective of a lower resource economy context. Our paper is positioned on positivists' reasoning and quantitative research approach. A survey-based structured questionnaire has been used to collect data from 300 manufacturing firms in Ghana. Our hypotheses have been tested with the aid of SMART-PLS and structural equation modelling. The indicative results have shown that CGC positively affect CEI behaviour. Moreover, EI and GIC have significant and positive effects on CEI behaviour, Besides, GIC serves as a medium through which CGC indirectly impacts on CEI behaviour. The implications of the study include the emergence of baseline model to encourage CEI behaviour in Ghana and other Sub-Saharan African countries. The paper recommends that the newly developed model be used by practitioners to explain coordinated economic, ecological and social development, and restore ecological environment. Policymakers are encouraged to facilitate the reinforcement of environmental policies and subsequent realization of Sustainable Development Goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to promote the development of agro-ecological economy and improve the reliability of the development model of agricultural circular economy, this paper explores the general framework of the coordinated development of the agricultural logistics ecosystem from the perspective of the construction of the agricultural logistics ecosystem, the composition of the ecosystem, the synergy stage, and the synergy goal. Moreover, this paper combines big data and Internet of Things technology to analyze its own path of the cooperative development mechanism of the agricultural logistics ecosystem, and uses typical cases to show the internal relationships between the main bodies of the agricultural logistics ecosystem. In addition, this paper attempts to explain the core essence of the agricultural logistics ecosystem and the internal relations of the subjects through the practice of enterprises. After constructing the system framework, this paper combines the intelligent algorithm to construct the intelligent model structure, and analyzes the system function realisation process based on the actual situation. Finally, this paper evaluates the performance of the algorithm model constructed in this paper through experimental research. From the experimental statistical results, it can be seen that the algorithm model constructed in this paper has a certain effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New technological development enables to implement circular economy (CE) practices. This phenomenon is taking particular interest for the Academy. The aim of this study is to analyse the cognitive and intellectual structure of the relationship between CE and technology. The proposed research questions seek to answer how the evolution of the number of publications per year, the main authors, journals, institutions and countries in this field, and the most relevant topics and papers in the research area are. It is used a bibliometric approach of co-word analysis of 996 articles published on Web of Science. In addition, it is proposed a research agenda after reviewing the most cited articles and points the research trend topics. There is a need to include topics associated with the social sphere, since most of the research is focused on environmental aspects and economic effects. In recent years, research has been polarised towards the blockchain, Big Data and biorefinery technologies. Although these technologies are in demand, it should not ignore other emerging technologies that could be key to circularity, such as those related to product redesign or changes in production infrastructures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Material flow analysis (MFA) is the main methodology to assess material flow circularity. It is essentially a data-analysis-based approach whose physical foundations consist of conservation of mass. To improve both the accuracy and the repeatability of MFA models, in this paper we leverage compartmental dynamical thermodynamics merged with graph theory and control theory. The key idea is that the thermodynamic compartments and their connections can be added, removed or modified as needed to achieve a circular material flow. Thus, our methodology consists of designing thermodynamical material networks (TMNs). We also provide a physics-based definition of circularity and implement a nonlinear compartmental control, which has been possible since TMNs are highly dynamic models based on differential calculus (i.e. ordinary differential equations) rather than on arithmetic as is typical for MFA models. As we envision scalable and repeatable designs of TMNs, we made publicly available the paper source code.1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the continuous development of society and the continuous improvement of people's living standards, leisure agricultural tourism based on agricultural production has gradually become popular, which takes agricultural landscape, agricultural experience and agricultural product shopping as content, and leisure agricultural tourist attractions have emerged. At present, some ecological agriculture projects are reconstruction or transformation projects, which are the recreational transformation of the original base for traditional agricultural projects in order to survive and seek market stimulation. However, due to the unscientific planning of the basic system, the low level of operation and management, and the lack of a scientific theoretical system for demonstration during the transformation process, the planning and transformation of the ecological agriculture project have not been promoted, and the project industry development has not been improved. Therefore, under the support of the concept of circular economy, this paper combines the Internet of Things technology to carry out the planning and analysis of ecological agricultural tourist attractions, and combines the experiments to analyse the effectiveness of this method. From the research point of view, it can be known that the ecological agricultural scenic area planning method constructed in this paper has certain effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional rural cultural heritage is not only the crystallisation of China's long agricultural history but also can guide the development of modern agriculture to some extent. It has its values for scientific research, education, tourism and other aspects. About exploration on the value of agricultural cultural heritage, there are some problems such as landscape homogenisation as well as iconic landscape deficiency. This paper focuses on the concept of rural culture, studies the planning of ecological agricultural circular economy in combination with agricultural ecological scenery, analyses the actual situation of regional rural culture and its actual planning needs, and verifies it through practice. From the researching point of view, the planning method proposed in this paper can be effectively combined with the traditional agricultural culture concept and can promote the development of agriculture and tourism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to improve the reliability and scientificity of the path of agriculture sustainable development, guided by the concept of circular economy, this paper combines data mining technology to construct a path analysis system of agricultural sustainable development and establishes a one-dimensional discrete dynamic model of the interaction between the stock of renewable resources and the output. Moreover, this paper discusses the impact of resource-based industries' output on the sustainable use of resources and establishes a two-dimensional discrete dynamic control model for resource stock and resource development speed. In addition, this paper mainly studies the relationship between resource stock and output when the speed of resource development is managed and controlled, and builds a system structure model based on the actual needs of agricultural development. Finally, this paper designs an experiment to analyse the performance of the system model constructed in this paper. The research results show that the system constructed in this paper has a certain guiding effect on the sustainable development of agriculture, and it can be applied to practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, an increasing number of manufacturers have implemented a reverse supply chain (RSC) that takes back and recovers products, components, or packaging, thereby supporting the ideas of the circular economy. The literature has shown that the profitability of RSCs varies in the sense that some manufacturers profit from this while others do not. The causes of this variance, however, remain unclear. To add to the knowledge on this topic, this paper investigates the factors that influence RSCs' financial performance. This is done through three case studies of RSCs at equipment manufacturers, focusing on the end-product, component, and packaging level, respectively. The findings show that the RSC initiatives were rather profitable at all three product levels. On the other hand, RSC profitability had only a slight relationship to reverse logistics and RSC design. By demonstrating the importance of factors other than reverse logistics, the present study suggests that future research should apply a broader focus when investigating RSCs' impact on overall financial performance. By identifying a set of factors influencing profitability at the end-product, component, and packaging levels, the present study advances the understanding of RSC profitability and provides a basis for more holistic RSC research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emerging economies are striving to realize their potential for sustainable production in achieving zero-carbon agenda. Due to natural resource constraints, businesses must focus on green production resources to develop the circular economy. Therefore, this study aims to identify the key role of green financing and logistics in adopting sustainable production and circular economy. We have collected the data from 240 respondents from the Chinese manufacturing sector following the COVID-19 peak in late 2020 and analyzed using structural equation modeling. As per research findings, green financing and green logistics have a significant and positive effect on sustainable production and the circular economy. Second, sustainable production has a significant positive influence on the circular economy. Manifestly, sustainable production was discovered to play an important mediating role among these variables. Besides, the novel Importance-performance map analysis shows each constructs performance and importance value towards the circular economy. This paper contributed to the literature and highlighted the importance of each construct. Moreover, the study findings implied that green financing and green logistics should be integrated into organizational procuring and financing strategies for manufacturing green and sustainable goods, and advancing the circular economy goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Waste and its reuse have constituted an important field of economic activity for most of human history, including modern times. While the collected articles of this special issue exemplify the significance that waste salvage had in mobilising resources in Europe, Asia, and North America in World War II, this introduction situates these cases in a long-term perspective. It explores the continuities and ruptures inside the structures, markets, and actors of the salvage business from late nineteenth century waste reclamation, including the sanitary era of municipal waste disposal, to the more recent era of 'green' recycling. It argues that we need to rethink waste's role within business history by delineating four basic characteristics of the waste business: the moral economies that govern wasting and reusing; the informality of the trade and its operations; the trans-sectorality of the waste streams; and the reverse logistics of the waste salvage trade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's GDP has grown in 30 years from $106 billion to $2.4 trillion, making it the fourth largest economy in the world. In 2002 the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China pledged an even more ambitious development agenda: quadrupling of GDP, social equality, recovery and protection of environmental integrity. The reconciliation of these three policy goals would be achieved through the establishment of a 'circular economy', underpinned by a cleaner production strategy. Two new laws were introduced to move the agenda forward—the new Environmental Impact Assessment Law and the Cleaner Production Promotion Law. This paper examines the provisions of these laws and published outcomes of actual implementation. The author concludes that while the results achieved thus far are important, the scope and magnitude of environmental benefits are insignificant and the pace of progress too slow to realistically deal with the environmental impacts of the 40 million or so enterprises in China. Some suggestions are offered on how the government can use the Cleaner Production Promotion Law to introduce and sustain the societal- and corporate-level changes that are needed if China is to make significant and timely progress towards a circular economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mismanagement of plastic waste results in its ubiquitous presence in the environment. Despite being durable and persistent materials, plastics are reduced by weathering phenomena into debris with a particle size down to nanometers. The fate and ecotoxicological effects of these solid micropollutants are not fully understood yet, but they are raising increasing concerns for the environment and people's health. Even if different current technologies have the potential to remove plastic particles, the efficiency of these processes is modest, especially for nanoparticles. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are crystalline nano-porous materials with unique properties, have unique properties, such as strong coordination bonds, large and robustus porous structures, high accessible surface areas and adsorption capacity, which make them suitable adsorbent materials for micropollutants. This review examines the preliminary results reported in literature indicating that MOFs are promising adsorbents for the removal of plastic particles from water, especially when MOFs are integrated in porous composite materials or membranes, where they are able to assure high removal efficiency, superior water flux and antifouling properties, even in the presence of other dissolved co-pollutants. Moreover, a recent trend for the alternative preparation of MOFs starting from plastic waste, especially polyethylene terephthalate, as a sustainable source of organic linkers is also reviewed, as it represents a promising route for mitigating the impact of the costs deriving from the widescale MOFs production and application. This connubial between MOFs and plastic has the potential to contribute at implementing a more effective waste management and the circular economy principles in the polymer life cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research exploring the psychological, social, and environmental barriers to recycling has predominantly focused on consumer attitude and behaviour. However, the plastic system involves a chain of stakeholders with a role in decision-making and actions in relation to plastic production and management post-use, affirming the need to explore the barriers to recycle across various other stakeholders implicated in the lifecycle of plastic product and packaging. To expand this evidence-base, N = 12 in-depth qualitative semi-structured interviews explored the perspectives of some of the stakeholders responsible for various aspects of the plastic life cycle (fast moving consumer goods industry, retailers, and waste management professionals). Using a semi-directed content analysis approach via NVivo, three overarching themes were extracted from the data: 1) Disempowerment and lost opportunities 2) Solutions and opportunities reside with use of legislation 3) The circular economy stakeholders need motivation, and to be more knowledgeable. The themes suggest that stakeholders implicated in the plastic lifecycle lack the drive and perceived personal and organizational efficacy to generate meaningful change in the plastic system. These barriers are exacerbated by a lack of collegial partnerships between stakeholders to facilitate knowledge transfer and collective action. This study recommends greater collaboration and communication between stakeholders implicated in the end-to-end plastic "chain", and makes a renewed call for further legislation, having shed light on important socio-political and pragmatic barriers to reducing plastic waste. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To achieve sustainable development, companies are aware that they need to move from the 'take-make-consume-throw away' pattern toward an economic model based on sharing, re-use, repair, refurbishing, and recycling. Implementing the circular economy concept into a company's business model is not an easy process, given that some eco-innovations have higher costs with direct effects on financial performance. Hence, this study aims to determine the relationship between corporate financial performance and the performance measures of the circular economy through multivariate econometric estimations. The observations considered in our sample reflect the financial and circular economy performance for 411 companies with headquarters in the European G7 members disclosed in the period 2014-2020. The EU was chosen to carry out the study because the member states subscribe to a general reporting framework and the European Green Deal agreement, making it the most active in implementing the circular economy model. The findings are based on the econometric models related to the nature and amplitude of the association relation between firms' financial performance and circular economy in connection with firms' performance. The results show that the performance of the circular economy has a relatively small influence on the firms' financial performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To identify potential limitations that may impact the quality and efficiency of end-of-life vehicle (ELV) recycling and to provide solutions for effective management, this study investigates the current ELV recycling practice and the quality assessment systems around it in Malaysia by employing a mixed-methods approach. The approach encompasses qualitative and quantitative research alongside reviewing pertinent literature. The findings reveal that ELV recycling and its accompanying quality assessment systems in Malaysia are restricted and confront many critical challenges. The challenges include the lack of appropriate processes for recycling to maximize the material recovery, and the quality and reliability of the components put into circular economy practice. As a practical solution, a stakeholder-centric framework is proposed that allows better management of ELV waste from transportation and other related sectors. This framework enhances the efficiency and quality of ELV recycling practices in Malaysia and helps assess the quality of components recovered from ELVs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fourth industrial revolution (I4.0) has changed the traditional business model, bringing various benefits, including increased efficiency and productivity in organizations. However, to attain success in I4.0 practices requires collaboration from various stakeholders. This study objectives to identify the facilitators of I4.0 practices that can lead to successful collaboration among stakeholders from a circular perspective. An extensive literature review is performed to identify 14 potential facilitators. Further, the study adopts a mixed methodology of Best-Worst Method (BWM) and Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) to analyze the interconnectedness among the identified facilitators. BWM method was used to determine the relative importance of the identified facilitators, while ISM technique was used to determine the relationships between the facilitators of I4.0 practices. The findings from the study reveal that to strengthen stakeholder collaboration, organizations need to focus more on training and capacity-building programs and create more opportunities for technology exchange. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lignin constitutes the sole renewable aromatic resource found in abundance on Earth and does not call into question the ethics of diverting land from food to energy production. In view of that, the potential of lignocellulosic biomass in promoting the Circular Economy and Bioeconomy concepts in future biorefinery operations is widely acknowledged. Biorefineries can convert lignocellulosic biomass into high-value products, lessen their environmental effect, and hasten the advent of a sustainable and renewable future by incorporating cutting-edge technologies and doing thorough Life Cycle Assessment analysis. However, converting lignin into added-value products is a challenging field from technological, environmental, and economic perspectives. This work set out to determine the most critical environmental aspects expected to provide reliable evidence in support of lignin valorisation routes that enable the production of value-added products and bioenergy. Findings provide the necessary knowledge for decision-making in biorefineries aligned with the Circular Bioeconomy concept, like how decision-making relating to future biorefineries is facilitated. Environmental burdens of lignin-derived products valorisation due to complex lignin structure A limited number of LCA studies on the valorisation of lignin to added-value products Future lignin-based biorefineries development should be assessed using holistic, sustainable approaches LCA methodologies on environmental performance of promising lignin valorisation routes Controversial aspects of lignin valorisation under the Circular Bioeconomy concept Raised concerns as a result of the lignin fraction expected high demand Identified controversial environmental aspects linking lignin valorisation to adverse impacts [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interest in circular economy practices is increasing. A key material that connects the circular economy and wider environmental concerns is plastic waste, which poses environmental, climate, and human health risks. Single-use plastic packaging is particularly problematic because it forms the largest share of the global plastics market, has a short life cycle, and has channelled investment towards the bottom of the waste hierarchy. Given single-use plastic packaging is embedded in global trade, transitioning away from use requires much more than 'behaviour change' from individual producers and consumers. In this article we use social practice theory to show how social change is occurring with regard to single-use plastics. We draw on two food retail case studies of (primarily) business-to-consumer packaging from Aotearoa New Zealand. We show how transitioning away from single-use plastic food packaging requires (1) understanding the function and meaning of packaging materials, and (2) coordinating other materials, skills and meanings to re-craft and substitute the functions that single-use packaging performs across businesses, supply chains and consumers. Our analysis illustrates the significant collaboration and emerging networks needed for change, and signals how investment towards the top of the waste hierarchy in reuse could contribute to a more circular economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Government investment in environmental protection (Govin) plays a key role in stimulating private green investment (Prinv) to preserve the ecological environment with economic profits. To examine the effect of Govin on Prinv, this study uses data from 2010 to 2020 on green A-listed companies in China and estimates a dynamic panel model by using both the difference generalized method of moments and system generalized method of moments. The results indicate that Govin has a crowding-in effect on Prinv, and this conclusion is confirmed by several robustness tests. Furthermore, we identify revenues as a potential mechanism variable to explain how Govin affects Prinv. In addition, this study finds regional and enterprise ownership differences in the crowding in effect of Chinese Govin. Finally, based on these outcomes, the study suggests that the government should rationally and dynamically adjust the contents of public environmental investment and optimise its structure to effectively promote the development of green, low-carbon, and circular economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enhancing the economic and environmental efficiency of municipal solid waste (MSW) management is crucial for transitioning to a circular economy and achieving cost-efficient and sustainable waste practices. In this study, we introduce an innovative approach to examine the influence of MSW recycling on waste performance over multiple years. We employ a non-parametric method to assess and compare the Malmquist Productivity Index (MPI) and the Malmquist-Luenberger Productivity Index (MLPI) across 143 municipalities in Chile from 2015 to 2019. The findings reveal a positive trend in both MPI and MLPI. The average eco-productivity change (MLPI) is relatively lower than the average productivity change (MPI) throughout the evaluated years. The aggregated scores for MPI and MLPI between 2015 and 2019 stand at 2.73 and 1.33, respectively. The primary driver of productivity change is attributed to technical advancements, leading to a shift in the efficient frontier, while eco-productivity change predominantly arises from efficiency enhancements. This implies that municipalities have employed diverse strategies to enhance their economic and environmental performance. The results and implications of this study hold significance for policymakers at regional and local levels, offering valuable insights for optimising MSW management within the context of a circular economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presented research examines the repurposing of decommissioned phonebooth units to COVID-19 sampling stations as a meaningful attempt to promote environmentally sustainable and socially resilient cities by contributing to a circular economy transition. The repurposing approach is compared to an adequate new build design using a life cycle assessment to evaluate the environmental implications and a time-cost comparison for their implementation. The results indicate that the remodelling of the phone booth improves environmental performance. The expanded need for refurbishment is offset by the need to use virgin material for the new stations. The benefit of finding reuse for the phone booths and extending their lifetime further supports this understanding, demonstrating the adaptive approach as a viable strategy for utilising an otherwise disused urban infrastructure with uncertain end-of-life. Cost-time results show that repurposing is less expensive due to the donated phone booths and low production numbers. On the other hand, new sampling stations take less time to produce. Future studies investigate user experiences and social benefits of the realised sampling station based on phone booth repurposing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The environmental problems caused by a linear economy system and the exploitation of natural resources have been known well over 50 years. Although a great deal has been done, there is a contradiction between increasing consumerism and the concrete actions that have been taken. A lot more needs to be done immediately to stop catastrophic global change and adopt circular economy mindset and system. The most profound way to promote this transformation is to involve all people through education. Starting in pre-school and continuing all the way to university, education is the best way to enable the transition from a linear economy to a circular economy. In this article, we describe how a project to implement circular economy teaching in the Finnish education system was carried out. We also show that the teaching development should be started from the bottom up with teachers, as opposed to top-level planning bodies. The first target in Finland´s circular economy education programme was to focus on today's school pupils and university students. However, this is not enough. There is an increasing need to involve everyone in working life to increase their circular economy skills. The aim is that everyone is a circular economy expert. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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An underlying factor with the problems of trip making in urban areas is related to the land use potentials and the condition of its transport system. The land use pattern of any settlement is the basis for its physical planning, especially in rapidly growing cities. This study examines land use and households' trip in selected cities of Osun State, Nigeria. Data were obtained for the pattern of land uses. Data were also randomly obtained from 2,134 households to examine their trip pattern. Descriptive statistics was used to analyse land use pattern, while correlation analysis was used to examine relationship between land use and households' trip pattern. Findings revealed that all the cities studied possessed characteristics of mixed land use. The study shows that 57.15% of the land use is for residential while non-residential accounted for 42.85%. Further, households made an average of 27 trips per week and travelled an average of 10.65kilometres per day in the selected cities. Results from correlation analysis indicated that there is low positive correlation between residential land use and trip frequency (r = 0.302) as well as distance travel (r = 0.222). Further, with correlation coefficient (r) of 0.613 and 0.559, there is strong positive correlation between non-residential land use and trip frequency as well as distance traveled by the household. The study recommends holistic urban planning to reduce future urban land use problems that may lead cities into a chaotic situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Circular development creates more resource efficient, adaptive, and ecologically healthy cities. Circular food and construction systems; the ecological regeneration of contaminated brownfield sites and circular tactical urbanism are just some of the processes and systems adopted by those implementing a circular development pathway. These produce benefits, however, there are many challenges to implementing circular development, demonstrated by two London cases. The research reveals the difficulties low-value, circular activities encounter when competing for space in London. It shows how the imbalance between local supply and demand for circular products prevents scaling-up. It suggest a lack of data monitoring the benefits of adopting circular development, undermines political support. It reveals the conflict between the reliance on civil society to engage with circular actions versus public resistance. It highlights the need for accountability and transparency in the process of implementation and for a regulatory framework to encourage circular development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite its importance and influence on global plastic consumption, plastic management in the hospitality industry remains largely under-researched. This study aimed to investigate the perceived opportunities and barriers to reducing, reusing and recycling single-use plastics among a group of Frisian hospitality enterprises. By means of a thematic narrative analysis, four entrepreneurs were interviewed to investigate their management of plastics, the perceived opportunities and barriers for plastic reduction and the nudges used for staff and guests. The results revealed that the key perceived plastic management barrier themes are: (1) plastic packaged food and cleaning supplies from suppliers; (2) no possibility for plastic separation; (3) laws and regulations; and (4) staff motivation. For the opportunities component of the research, it was found that further research should be conducted for effective nudging strategies in plastic reduction, as only one participant has currently implemented this in their business. Secondly, further research should be conducted for the identified best practices, such as the bicycle waste pick-up service. Lastly, more research should be conducted on plastic reduction and nudging in the hospitality sector in general, due to the current limited availability thereof. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growing population leads to generating more waste and depletion of natural resources. Moreover, the cost of supplying some resources has increased substantially. Hence, the manufacturer is trying to focus on planning to get back old or partially/wholly unusable products and make the best disposition decisions on them. This research aims to build a multi-industry applied model using the deep learning method in social media analysis to make the best decision for returning products in reverse logistics, along with the sustainability and circular economy concerns. Furthermore, we outline the usage of social network analytics in aligning consumers' expectations with supply chain policies, strategies, and decisions. An industry benchmark concerning circular economy concepts can be attained by applying the proposed model to different industries. We have proposed a generalisable model using social media analytics, consumer sentiment analysis, reverse logistics, and circular economy theory to attain a circular supply chain regarding sustainability concerns. Applying the proposed model to the electronics industry as a case study, the model was further validated with Twitter data analysis of developing versus developed countries for laptop devices. We collected over 70-million tweets using the Twitter Application Programming Interface (API) over fifteen months. The results approved the proposed model by leveraging the Twitter geolocation attribute to extract Twitter data from developing and developed countries. Moreover, the model is general enough to be used on various industries' supply chains and provides managers and policymakers with deep insight into reverse logistics' decision-making. It would be interesting to use real-time analytics and improve accuracy in future works. We made original contributions to reverse logistics decision-making in the circular economy context. Previous research, which has focused on supply chain decision-making, has been extended by providing theoretical and practical implications for social media analytics and the circular economy ecosystem. Thus, by scrutinising the consumers' needs and expectations, we suggested the best decision on returned products to close an open-ended supply chain and achieve a circular economy. Furthermore, we derived industry benchmarks for both developing and developed countries separately. The results showed that the best decision on returning products in developing countries is different from developed countries. We advise top managers and policymakers to improve supply chain sustainability using social media analytics in developing and developed countries to substantially optimise waste and companies' profits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Moving towards a circular and sustainable economy requires improving the management of municipal solid waste (MSW) increasing recycling rates while minimising unsorted waste and operational costs. It is essential to evaluate the economic and environmental efficiency of MSW services. Previous studies focused on developed countries and employed radial parametric and non-parametric methods. By contrast, this study assessed the technical efficiency, environmental efficiency and eco-efficiency of several Chilean municipalities employing the non-radial range adjusted measure approach. A second stage of assessment was conducted to explore the influence of a set of environmental variables on efficiency scores. Results revealed that the evaluated Chilean municipalities performed poorly from a technical perspective since the average technical efficiency score was 0.484. By contrast, average environmental efficiency and eco-efficiency scores were 0.899 and 0.922, respectively. Nevertheless, the percentage of eco-efficient municipalities was lower than 1%. It was also found that tourism had a major and negative impact on all types of efficiency. By contrast, population density had a significant and positive impact on environmental efficiency. The assessment of three types of efficiency provides relevant information to policymakers to define specific strategies to improve MSW management according to sustainability and circular economic objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today in Europe building-sector is responsible for the 50% of air pollution and for 70% of waste production. For this reason, researchers' interest is focused on new eco-building materials that are sustainable, with low impact, renewable and recyclable. In this context, in the last few years, the use of cellulose-based fibres as potential reinforcements for bio-composite materials, instead of synthetic one, received worldwide growing attention. Among natural fibres, both cellulose and protein-based ones, in literature it was found that, due to its mechanical properties, artichoke fibre is suitable for this use. In this study, a Geographical Information System (GIS) – based model to locate and quantify the yearly amount of agricultural waste coming from Cynara cardunculus L. (CW) cultivation was put forward and was applied in a study area located in Southern Italy. As an additional protein-based fibre, sheep wool fibre was also taken into account due to the high presence of sheep. The estimated available amount of both considered fibres was reported in a GIS map in order to show their distribution at territorial level. The achieved results could represent basic information for both sustainable locating collection centre and analysing the environmental impact related to the logistics and supply phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last 15 years, New Zealand led research on wastewater treatment high rate algal ponds (HRAP) has focused on ways to optimise pond performance, particularly with respect to nutrient removal and resource recovery (microalgal biomass production). The primary motivation for most of this research has been the need to cost-effectively improve wastewater treatment, particularly in small towns and rural communities, where wastewater treatment would otherwise be unaffordable. The ability to recover resources (water and nutrients) helps enable a circular bio-economy, through the reuse of these recovered resources in future products. New Zealand HRAP research has focused on 10 broad categories, including improving pond performance (nutrient removal and biomass yield), environmental impacts of HRAPs, pond design and operation, microalgal and zooplankton community composition and control, algal-based products, enhancing phosphorus removal, biomass harvesting and emerging contaminants. Research has been carried out at a range of scales, including mesocosm, pilot-scale and full-scale. Simple modification to how HRAPs are operated, such as culture depth, operating ponds in series, biomass recycling and night-time CO2 addition, have been shown to improve pond performance, particularly nutrient removal, biomass productivity, species dominance maintenance or zooplankton graze control. However, despite our improved understandings over the last 15 years, there are still a number of priorities for increasing HRAP performance, including effective CO2 addition at full-scale, improving phosphorus removal and reducing potential environmental impacts of HRAPs. Uptake of HRAP technology by local government bodies and industries is low and the reasons for this are not fully clear. Cost-effective and sustainable harvesting of the microalgal/bacterial biomass, to ensure effluent discharge meets total nutrient and total suspended solids load limits, is one barrier that must be overcome to allow greater uptake of this technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of Former Food Products (FFPs) as feed ingredients is already documented in swine, as well as their beneficial nutritional value. To date, FFPs extra-nutritional bioactive effect in feed has not been elucidated. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate and compare the total phenolic content and antioxidant capacity (AOC) in six samples of FFPs extracted by different solvent systems. After methanol and acetone extraction, total phenolic content and AOC were determined in FFPs and wheat sample (CTR) using Folin–Ciocalteu and 2,2'-azinobis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline 6-sulfonic acid)-ABTS assay, respectively. Results demonstrated that FFPs samples were characterised by an average amount of total phenolic content of 129.3 ± 15.1 mg tannic acid equivalents (TAE)/100g in methanol extracts and 156.4 ± 25.8 mg TAE/100g in acetone extracts. Whereas, the ABTS assay revealed that FFPs showed also anAOC of 138.0 ± 14.3 mg Trolox Equivalent (TE)/100 g in methanol extracts and 173.3 ± 18.8 mg TE/100 g in acetone extracts. Former Food Products represent relevant sources of phenols and antioxidant compounds, which can be beneficial for animal health. Former Food Products (FFPs) reprocessing is a way to convert food losses into ingredients for animal diets; Valuable content of total phenolic compounds and notable antioxidant capacity were observed in FFPs after extraction with methanol and acetone; FFPs demonstrated to be a source of bioactive compounds with extra-nutritional activities which can be beneficial for animal health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the Brundtland Report was released in 1987, research on sustainable development has become an urgent issue of common concern. To meet the present consumption without compromising the needs of future generations, it is essential for society to practice the "don't waste waste" principle and to promote sustainable growth. As this article illustrates, sustainable growth can be understood as an institutional arrangement of regenerating circular GDP in a sustainable manner. In the circular economy system, sustainable growth is not only theoretically feasible, but also looks very promising. To promote sustainable consumption and investment, a certain degree of institutional planning (i.e., a process of progressive institutional change) initiated by a community or a government is necessary. Sustainable growth is, in essence, a dynamic process of mutually-interacting socioeconomic activities of learning and training in sustainability issues, and this requires great effort as well as the active participation of people from all walks of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has taken major steps to meet the targets of the Social Cost of Carbon (SC-CO2). In what follows, a research model using the market price for emission allowances per metric ton illustrates how the economic and environment mechanisms of carbon price can be formulated using deterministic and stochastic equilibrium models: the primary concern becomes one of optimal stochastic control. Moreover, this framework allows us to consider the prospective influence of the proposed policy on the profit margins for remanufactured goods, in addition to its performance; further presented is an in-depth study to quantitatively evaluate the model and its performance through the use of Orthogonal Arrays. The results demonstrate that the proposed policy for carbon tax brings about tight constraints on the quantity of carbon emissions produced through supply chain operations; numerical examples are based upon actual locations in the area of Boston. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excessive and progressive industrialization is creating significant economic gaps, whereas large quantities of natural resources are used, and a lot of waste is created. Circular Economy (CE) aims to convert the so-called linear economy paradigm. Changes in legal regulations, business models, and construction methods are necessary for an effective CE implementation. This article aims to attract the attention of key players of the construction sector to a phenomenon of the CE. Basic conditions, a company should meet to perform an effective transformation towards the CE, were described. A hybrid, qualitative-quantitative methodology was used to research. First, a literature review is performed to describe a specificity of the construction industry and features of the construction companies in Poland. Second, a conceptual framework is developed to describe emerging CE business models. Third, a simulation-based analysis is developed to check a propensity of the construction companies to implement the CE and enhance its meaning in different types of economies. Finally, underlying a company's condition as a factor of propensity to implement the CE, it must be noted that stable economies show higher predictability and therefore are more likely to implement principles of the CE than unstable ones. It is concluded that the European Commission should implement new rules, based on promoting closed-loop economy principles, for partnership agreements on the European structural and investment funds in the future. Especially the recommendations given in the article constitute an important contribution of the authors to the development of knowledge about CE in the construction sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Circular economy (CE) models are driving the next restructuring of global textile production and secondary markets, but their socio-political configurations are largely untested. New textile recycling technologies have the potential to redirect material resource flows, disrupt global secondary markets and reconfigure the waste hierarchy. Mainstream CE modelling tends to include people simply as product users in a system of material flows governed by large brands. However, anthropological research into collaborations of small-scale urban designer-producers show how they are using CE principles to prototype new regional cloth economies that aim to reproduce the types of societies they wish to live in. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes how Circular Economy (CE) and Cradle to Cradle (C2C) can be used in university teaching to address these frameworks' strengths and weaknesses in practice. The advantages of these frameworks for radical change are outlined, including their emphasis on upcycling rather than recycling (downcycling). This article discusses how students apply their understanding of transformative production frameworks to three case studies of products or materials. The student projects evaluating existing products in terms of their circularity value outline a number of practical as well as theoretical challenges. The case studies demonstrate that some products still have a long way to go to fully cycle materials within a closed system. Aside from illustrating the dangers of subversion of circular frameworks to the 'business-as-usual' scenarios, the assignments are instructive in showing how CE/C2C can be successfully taught. This article recommends pedagogical strategies involving both theory of sustainable production and sustainability and practical research into company's operations in order to develop the students' ability to meaningfully engage with CE/C2C models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article takes a look at some of the broader themes of value creation that have evolved as part of a circular economy, and illustrates why chemists should (as well as exemplifying how they could) get involved. We begin by outlining five main lessons we have learned since the Ellen MacArthur Foundation was set up in 2010, and then proceed to talk about two concrete examples where the circular economy offers a vision of a system with positive socio-economic and environmental outcomes: mobility and plastics. In each case, we discuss the role chemistry, in particular green chemistry, can play – anchored in the realization that chemists play a central role in guiding society towards its material future. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]