This project examines how recycling actors can concretely transform their roles, working methods and strategies in order to contribute, step by step and in a robust manner, to a more resource-efficient society.
Aim and objectives
The project aims to develop concrete and flexible change strategies for actors in the waste and recycling sector. The objective is to translate overarching goals and roadmaps for a circular economy into practically achievable strategies, based on the actors’ current operations and conditions.
The project will, among other things:
- analyse current practices, challenges and opportunities for change
- develop and assess new combinations of technical and organisational solutions
- evaluate how these solutions perform under different future scenarios
- produce general guidelines to support the sector’s transition towards a circular economy.
The project is based on case studies within the waste and recycling sector, where researchers and industry actors jointly develop and analyse strategies for the transition to a circular economy. The work combines environmental systems analysis, actor studies and scenario methodology to understand how technical and organisational changes can be implemented in practice.
Expected results and societal benefits
The project is expected to:
- increase resource efficiency and reduce climate impact within the recycling sector
- strengthen the role of recycling actors as active drivers in the circular transition
- develop methods for translating visionary roadmaps into practical actionprovide a basis for future policy and industry development.
In the longer term, the results may help shape a recycling industry that is more fully integrated into material and value chains, and that actively contributes to a resource-efficient and circular society.
Project period: 1 September 2025 – 31 August 2028
