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This focus area aims to map the current regulatory landscape of MCM circularity, informing new approaches and instruments that could be implemented to support the transition to a Circular Economy.
Description
PDR3E, Dr Feja Lesniewska worked with Prof Eloise Scotford from the UCL Faculty of Laws and Dr Teresa Domenech from the Bartlett Institute of Sustainable Research at UCL. The aim of her project was to understand how regulation can support the UK mineral-based construction sector to become more circular, adding and maintaining the value of materials over longer life cycles, and reduce waste through a blend of innovation in design (e.g., best available techniques/technologies), smart regulatory measures (e.g., standards, permits, and exemptions), and economic regulation (e.g., taxes and fines).
The main obstacle to achieving rapid transition is common agreement on what the most effective combination of designs and measures would be amongst stakeholders (business, government, and expert trade associations) and how to introduce them so as not to place unnecessary economic burdens, especially on small, mediumsized enterprises and local governments.
In the first year, Dr Lesniewska conducted a literature review relating to circular economy concepts and systems, reviewing relevant policy, standards, and regulations, and specific materials relating to MCMs cement and concrete.
This research informed a UK focused conceptual paper on how an integrated systems approach to circular economy policy implementation can be achieved, especially considering the powers of devolved administrations over relevant laws and regulations. Dr Lesniewska presented an initial overview of her findings at the UK-China Conference: Valorisation of Construction and Demolition Waste for Sustainable Infrastructure Development, held at Brunel University, London in December 2021.
Her work was complemented by desk-based research through interviews with key stakeholders.In addition to the literature review, Dr Lesniewska undertook a placement at the Environment Agency for 4 months. Her work contributed to the possibility of including circular economy conceptually into the first UK specific Best Available Techniques Conclusions template for all industrial sectors since leaving the EU.
She also set up collaborations with sector leads within the Environment Agency for cement and waste as well as local authority regulated small and medium sized operations to assist with identifying ways to advance circularity of MCMs under current regulations, which informed her research.
Publications
Kourmouli, A., Lesniewska, F. Losing Ground: Targeting Agricultural Land Take by Enabling a Circular Economy in Construction. Circ.Econ.Sust. 4, 459–473 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43615-023-00293-y
Among the numerous causes of soil degradation, one of the most severe and difficult to reverse is land take. Land take results in the loss of valuable ecosystem services that negatively impact soil health, especially in agricultural areas. The main drivers of land take are increased provision of housing, schools, hospitals, industrial and commercial sites, transport networks and infrastructures, mines, quarries and waste dumpsites. Globally, the rate and scale of land take is increasing. Given the impact on soil ecosystem services such as the carbon, hydrological and nitrogen cycles, preventing agricultural land take is essential if the triple planetary ecological crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution are to be addressed. Most countries use sustainable management techniques to limit land take by development projects. In this opinion paper, we argue that the circular economy concept could help to establish an alternative perspective on how to understand and address the agricultural land take problem. Law and policy need to foster a systemic transition to a circular economy throughout the entire construction sector’s multiple material life cycles if it is to significantly reduce land take. We use England as a case study to show how the UK government can revise and build on current policy to enable a transition to a more circular construction sector. The case study provides valuable lessons for other countries at a crossroad on land use policy on how fostering a circular construction economy can reduce land take and maintain agricultural soil’s ecological services.
Steenmans, Katrien & Lesniewska, Feja. (2023). Limitations of the circular economy concept in law and policy. 4. 10.3389/frsus.2023.1154059.
The circular economy (CE) concept has gained significant attention globally and nationally largely due to anticipated economic, environmental, and social benefits for sustainable development. As a result, laws and policies to advance CEs are increasingly being adopted nationally and regionally. In this perspective article we argue that a systematic approach to designing and implementing CE laws is necessary to cover the multi-level, multi-actor, and multi-sector dimensions of the CE concept. Such an approach should be built on a CE concept with clarified boundaries and scale to ensure it remains a meaningful concept and avoids perpetuating an unsustainable status quo. Moreover, a systematic approach should incorporate justice dimensions to deliver CEs that are fair, just, and inclusive. In the article we first identify five fundamental limitations to existing CE laws: (1) unclear boundaries and scale, (2) oversimplification of goals, (3) side-lining of justice dimensions, (4) reinforcement of the status quo, and (5) unintended consequences. Secondly, based on these limitations, we identify four directions for further research that can contribute to developing more effective CE laws. As there is no one-size-fits-all CE approach, any changes to existing laws and policies, or development of new ones, will require a wider evidence-base, from both the Global South and marginalized communities in the Global North, to reflect, inter alia, different practices, cultural relationships with material flows, and epistemological diversity.
Lesniewska, F., & Steenmans, K. (2023). Circular Economy and the Law: Bringing Justice into the Frame (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429355141
This book explores the role of law and policy in circular economy transitions and their impacts on justice, including on distributional equity and recognition and procedural rights, especially for people already marginalised under the current dominant economic system.
Amid increasing demand for virgin raw materials, and unsustainable consumption and waste disposal that are driving the global ecological and climate crisis, there are growing calls to urgently transition to circular economies. Despite an increasing number of circular approaches being adopted, implemented, and integrated in national and local laws and policies, the number of commercially successful business stories remains isolated. Moreover, questions about whether circular economy laws and policies are delivering fair and just global outcomes need to be addressed. This book examines this significant knowledge gap to understand legal experiences, including justice and equity issues in the global context, so that these can inform wider design and implementation. The book begins by explaining the concept of a circular economy and its context within wider issues of sustainable development and justice. The first part of the book then examines the legal context of the circular economy by analysing legal forms in practice and those recommended in wider scholarship before considering how these could impact on existing inequity and injustices globally. The second part delivers an empirical understanding of the implications of the law on circular economy approaches and the global equity and justice dimensions through two case studies on solid waste management and forestry. The final part addresses legal opportunities and challenges for wider implementation of circular economy approaches that incorporate justice into its framing.