Establishing a Circular Economy (to maximise the use made of resources and minimise waste generation) is a major policy area within the European Union and elsewhere. Explicitly seen as increasing economic competitiveness and laying a foundation for environmental employment, Circular Economy policies are designed to increase resource efficiency and decrease carbon dependency.
The many different fields of activity involved in developing a Circular Economy (e.g., re-use, recovery, recycling, design for the environment amongst others) have been shown to operate with varying degrees of effectiveness in different places and for different materials. Limited research has so far been undertaken that critically analyses these activities as interrelated social, technical, environmental and geographical phenomena.
CRESTING is recruiting 15 Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) to train in cutting edge systematic analysis of CE-related activity and initiatives in a range of geographic and economic settings. The purpose of this is to translate critical assessment to lessons for managing the transformation to a CE.
The project asks the following questions: