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Title THE STATE OF THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY: Waste Valorization in Hong Kong and Rotterdam
ID_Doc 3396
Authors Wildeboer, V; Savini, F
Title THE STATE OF THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY: Waste Valorization in Hong Kong and Rotterdam
Year 2022
Published International Journal Of Urban And Regional Research, 46, 5
DOI 10.1111/1468-2427.13122
Abstract The concept of the circular economy has gained significant political momentum because it offers policymakers a viable approach to tackling resource depletion, reducing waste and promoting economic development all at the same time. Current research, however, only focuses on the technological feasibility of this model, overlooking circularity's inherent contradiction: namely, that it valorizes waste rather than reducing it. This article tackles this limit by questioning the role of the state in what we describe as 'waste valorization'. It interrogates the urban political ecology of construction and demolition waste, the largest stream of inert materials in the world. It analyses CDW's geographies and economic position in urban development and the shifting rationales by which it is governed. To do this, it compares historical shifts in how CDW has been regulated in Hong Kong and Rotterdam. The article shows that waste is no longer an abject residual of urbanization, but a driver of urban development and a burgeoning sphere of accumulation in ecological capitalism.
Author Keywords Political ecology of waste; circular economy; capitalist state; accumulation; urban development; Hong Kong; Rotterdam
Index Keywords Index Keywords
Document Type Other
Open Access Open Access
Source Social Science Citation Index (SSCI)
EID WOS:000853703200001
WoS Category Geography; Regional & Urban Planning; Urban Studies
Research Area Geography; Public Administration; Urban Studies
PDF https://pure.uva.nl/ws/files/120655416/Int_J_Urban_Regional_Res_2022_Wildeboer_THE_STATE_OF_THE_CIRCULAR_ECONOMY_Waste_Valorization_in_Hong_Kong_and.pdf
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