Aristi Capetillo Alejandro, Bauer Fredric, Chaminade Cristina
MSc in Innovation & Global Sustainable Development, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Environmental and Energy Systems Studies, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Circ Econ Sustain. 2022 Sep 1:1-30. doi: 10.1007/s43615-022-00209-2.
Plastic waste has come to the forefront of academic and political debates as a global problem that demands an urgent solution. Promoted by policymakers, academia, and corporations alike, the circular economy model presents a viable path to reach more sustainable levels of development. Emerging and disruptive technologies can catalyse the transition to a circular economy, but their application to the transition of the plastic materials realm is not fully understood. Based on a systematic review of the literature, this paper aims to understand the role of key emerging technologies in the transition towards a circular economy in the plastic materials value chain, their potential impact, as well as the barriers of adoption and diffusion. Employing the ReSOLVE framework, the analysis reveals that rather than individual technologies, four technology sets associated with Industry 4.0, distributed economies, bio-based systems, and chemical recycling stand as major enablers of this transition. The complementarity of technologies and the change needed from a systemic perspective are discussed along with a proposal for governance and practical implementation pathway to overcome barriers and resistance to the transition.
塑料垃圾已成为学术和政治辩论的焦点，作为一个全球性问题，亟待解决。在政策制定者、学术界和企业的共同推动下，循环经济模式为实现更可持续的发展水平提供了一条可行之路。新兴和颠覆性技术能够催化向循环经济的转型，但其在塑料材料领域转型中的应用尚未得到充分理解。基于对文献的系统综述，本文旨在了解关键新兴技术在塑料材料价值链向循环经济转型中的作用、其潜在影响，以及采用和扩散的障碍。通过运用ReSOLVE框架进行分析发现，与工业4.0、分布式经济、生物基系统和化学回收相关的四组技术，而非单个技术，是这一转型的主要推动者。文中讨论了技术的互补性以及从系统角度所需的变革，并提出了治理和实际实施途径的建议，以克服转型的障碍和阻力。
