Governance of the circular economy: A comparative examination of the use of standards by China and the United Kingdom

Flynn, Andrew ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5728-1569, Hacking, Nick ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2219-7724 and Xie, Linjun 2019. Governance of the circular economy: A comparative examination of the use of standards by China and the United Kingdom. Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions 33 , pp. 282-300. 10.1016/j.eist.2019.08.002

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Abstract

Wastes, like other materials, have become increasingly global in their flows. The circular economy (CE) is a multi-level sustainability transition linked to the global trade in waste. China has long been a key trading partner for the West’s waste materials. However, its rethinking of the quality of traded recyclable materials has triggered a crisis in the global governance of waste flows. We utilise a Sociology of Knowledge approach to undertake comparative work to better understand how different governance arrangements may facilitate or constrain the unfolding of a CE transition. The UK and China were selected as models of liberal and authoritarian environmental governance respectively. A mixed-method approach was pursued using qualitative interviews with key stakeholders and analysis of quantitative and qualitative data from secondary sources. Thematic analysis is organised around: perceptions of the circular economy, meanings of standards, and perspectives on trade and materials.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Geography and Planning (GEOPL)
Additional Information:	Released with a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives License (CC BY-NC-ND)
Publisher:	Elsevier
ISSN:	2210-4224
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	13 August 2019
Date of Acceptance:	5 August 2019
Last Modified:	09 Nov 2023 22:27
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/124904

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