Collective ‘action recipes’ in a circular economy – On waste and resource management frameworks and their role in collective change

This paper shows how to constructively engage with waste and resource management frameworks, by clarifying their role in the societal discourse on waste and resources, providing insight into their step-based structure, and how they draw on different definitions of ‘waste’ and ‘resource.’ Through use of the concepts of ‘frame,’ ‘collective action frame’ and ‘logics,’ a language and conceptual toolbox is made available that facilitates a constructive debate around such frameworks.

Ten waste and resource management frameworks are included here, among which are the five frameworks that are part of the synthesis of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's Circular Economy framework: Cradle-to-Cradle™ by Braungart and McDonough, the Performance Economy by Walter Stahel, the Blue Economy by Gunter Pauli, Regenerative Design by John Lyle and the Industrial Symbiosis framework.

A case is made for the careful consideration, creation, use and further development of such frameworks and directions are provided for the further development of the CE concept into a robust concept.