PET bottles: From waste to resources. How circular economy transforms waste management practices in Buenos Aires

Sammanfattning: Circular Economy has become a promising sustainability concept among scholars and practitioners. This is because circular economy replaces linear productive systems and enables the achievement of economic and social objectives while minimizing the environmental impact. Building on the market-as-practice literature we investigate how circular economy is transforming waste management practices for PET-plastic bottles in the metropolitan area of Buenos Aires (GBA), Argentina. Although researchers have investigated the emergence of circular economy in more established markets, circular economy as a transformer of market practices in less developed settings has so far received little attention. To address this theoretical gap, we conducted a qualitative study interviewing market actors and making observations in the field. We find that circular economy is transforming the waste management practices of the market for PET bottles in GBA and that although a myriad of sustainability activities are taking place, multiple views on circular economy still render the direction of circular economy development unclear.