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Cited by 155Sustainable Industrial EcologyMunicipal Solid Waste ManagementSustainable Design and Development

The economy that runs on waste: accumulation in the circular city

Open access
Savini, Federico·2019·Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning
DOI 10.1080/1523908x.2019.1670048
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Abstract

Conventional wisdom holds that the circular economy will provide a sustainable pathway to economic growth. Advocates of circularity insist that maintaining economic growth, while simultaneously reducing both inputs of materials and outputs of waste, entails closing material streams in cities. This article examines the roots and legacy of these prescriptions in environmental policymaking. It argues that the circular economy represents a regime of eco-accumulation in which waste is main resource of production and consumption. Focusing on the legacy of circular economy policies in the Netherlands and Amsterdam, the article provides an account of the building of a nationwide green-growth urban agenda underpinned by the valorization of waste. It dissects three social, economic, and institutional processes and factors through which circularity takes shape: (a) the reconfiguration of the multi-level structure through which waste processing has been governed; (b) the promotion of a city-regional economy of micro-logistics and industrial manufacturing for waste materials; and (c) the centrality of households in producing and consuming waste in the urban environment. The article concludes by questioning the limits of an economy dependent on waste.

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  • We need to understand the roles of the CE and deconstruction in legitimizing new accumulation regimes that envision the discards of our built material environments as key inputs for future growth.

    “While the prevailing technological and material foci of the CE and deconstruction allow us to envision new resource efficiencies, we also need to understand their roles in legitimizing new accumulation regimes that envision the discards of our built material environments as key inputs for future growth (Savini, 2019).”

    From Unbuilding the city: Deconstruction and the circular economy in Vancouver (2022) · cites this paper as Savini, 2019

    The Abstract and “Waste valorization: raw materials beyond recycling” describe the circular economy as valorizing waste for growth within an emerging regime of accumulation. “Urban mining, logistics and ‘prosumption’” also describes the built environment as a source of reusable materials. The passages do not establish a distinct role for deconstruction in legitimizing that regime. (LLM, conf=0.83)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Circular cities, and their local and regional economies, are driven by waste.

    “Put short, circular cities, and their local and regional economies, are driven by waste.”

    From Unbuilding the city: Deconstruction and the circular economy in Vancouver (2022) · cites this paper as Savini, 2019

  • The prevailing Circular Economy and its urban correlate, the Circular City, offer a palatable tactic and proclamation of change but do so without seriously engaging with the more fundamental source of ecological problems: ever growing consumer capitalism.

    “As above, the prevailing CE and its urban correlate, the CC, thus offer a palatable tactic and proclamation of change but do so without seriously engaging with the 'more fundamental source of ecological problems: ever growing consumer capitalism' (Savini, 2019: 688).”

    From Unbuilding the city: Deconstruction and the circular economy in Vancouver (2022) · cites this paper as Savini, 2019

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Authors
Savini, F.
Affiliations
University of Amsterdam (NL)
Corresponding author
Savini, Federico
ORCID
Savini, Federico
Venue
Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning
Publisher
Informa UK Limited
Published
2019-09-20
Volume
21
Issue
6
Pages
675-691
ISSN
  • 1522-7200 (ISSN-L)
  • 1523-908X
DOI
10.1080/1523908x.2019.1670048
OpenAlex
W2974306961
Cited by
155
References
5
Citations by year
2026: 21 · 2025: 23 · 2024: 32 · 2023: 26 · 2022: 18 · 2021: 22 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 1
FWCI
9.78
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • UvA-DARE (University of Amsterdam) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering › Sustainable Industrial Ecology
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Waste Management and Disposal › Municipal Solid Waste Management
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Building and Construction › Sustainable Design and Development
Keywords
circular economy, waste valorization, green growth, municipal solid waste management, material flow, multi-level governance, household waste, Amsterdam, Netherlands, environmental policy

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