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Title How does the circular economy discourse affect policy-making? The case of streamlining waste utilisation in Finnish earthworks
ID_Doc 2291
Authors Nylén, EJA; Salminen, JM
Title How does the circular economy discourse affect policy-making? The case of streamlining waste utilisation in Finnish earthworks
Year 2019
Published
DOI 10.1016/j.resconrec.2019.06.029
Abstract Since entering the waste policy debate in the 1980s, the sustainability discourse has sought to find alternatives to end-of-pipe solutions. The latest development on this path is the emergence of the circular economy, which aims to close the loop of the current linear economy. This case study analyses a substantial Finnish waste policy reform that has been underway since the late 1990s. The objective of the reform has been to create a decree that streamlines waste utilisation in earthworks. The decree was prepared between 2000 and 2006, and then reformed between 2015 and 2018. We analysed the discursive spaces of both phases and compared them to interpret the changes in the discourse of waste policy. The discursive space in the preparation phase was structured by the tension between the discourses of resource efficiency and precaution, but in the reform, the emergence of the circular economy diversified the discursive space. The thinking regarding the circular economy has added complexity, competition, and struggle to waste policy, but also enhanced the role of upcycling.
Author Keywords Circular economy; Policy formulation; Waste utilisation; Discursive space; Upcycling; Deregulation
Index Keywords Index Keywords
Document Type Other
Open Access Open Access
Source Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED); Social Science Citation Index (SSCI)
EID WOS:000483414300049
WoS Category Engineering, Environmental; Environmental Sciences
Research Area Engineering; Environmental Sciences & Ecology
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