Blockchain technology is emerging as a plausible disruptor of waste management practices that influence the governance of plastics. The interest among the waste management community in the potential and fundamental changes to complex resource management associated with blockchain adoption parallels recent research in other sectors, such as finance, health, public administration, etc. During any comparable period characterized by a step-change in positive coverage of an early-stage technology, it can be challenging for actors to access a grounded, evidence-based oversight of the current state of practice and make informed decisions about whether or how to adopt blockchain technology. The current absence of such a systematic overview of recent experiences with blockchain initiatives disrupting waste practices not only limits the visibility of these experimental efforts, but also limits the learning that can be shared across waste plastics researcher and practitioner communities. This paper contributes with a current overview of blockchain technology adoption in the waste management sector, giving particular attention to implications for the governance of plastics. Our study draws on both primary interview data and secondary documentation data to map the landscape of current blockchain initiatives in the global waste sector. We identify four areas of blockchain use that are beginning to change waste management practices (payment, recycling and reuse rewards, monitoring and tracking of waste, and smart contracts). We conclude by outlining five areas of significant blockchain uses, implications, and influences of relevance to the development of circular plastic waste governance in both research and practice.

In urban policy there is an increasing emphasis on the management and sharing of information in and about cities. This paper focuses on external sharing practices which are facilitated by boundary‐spanning organisations. Boundary‐spanning organisations are hybrid structures that provide a platform to link internal networks of the city government with external actors, and in particular focus on engaging various types of stakeholders. The paper offers a preliminary assessment of a sample of boundary‐spanning organisations based across six case studies (Barcelona, Chicago, London, Medellin, Mexico City and Seoul) and across three types ofBSOs: living labs, innovation districts and sector‐orientedBSOs. Unpacking the shape and development ofBSOs, and “placing” them in urban governance, we begin to sketch a preliminary agenda geared to offer a better appreciation of the “information ecosystem” underneath policy‐making in cities.

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.

City-level data are needed to inform local strategies as well as to monitor progress towards the implementation of the New Urban Agenda (NUA). Not only do cities need more data, they also need information that is context sensitive and relevant to local policy needs. This paper reviews over 23 global urban data initiatives, concluding that the global urban data landscape in its current form is unable to support the implementation and monitoring of the NUA. Engaging a broader range of stakeholders in knowledge production is necessary as existing data offer a narrow understanding of the processes at play in cities.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact that property rights can have on the implementation of circular waste economies, in which waste is reused, recycled or recovered, within the European Union’s Waste Framework Directive. Design/methodology/approach: A theoretical lens is applied to the legal definition as well as production and treatment cycle of waste to understand the property rights that can exist in waste. Findings: This paper argues that even though different property rights regimes can apply to waste during its creation, disposal and recovery, the waste management regulatory and legal system is currently predominantly set up to support waste within classic forms of private property ownership. This tends towards commodification and linear systems, which are at odds with an approach that treats waste as a primary wanted resource rather than an unwanted by-product. It is recommended that adopting state or communal property approaches instead could affect systemic transformative change by facilitating the reconceptualisation of waste as a resource for everyone to use. Research limitations/implications: The property rights issues are only one dimension of a bigger puzzle. The roles of social conceptualisation, norms, regulations and policies in pursuing circular strategies are only touched upon, but not fully explored in this paper. These provide other avenues that can be underpinned by certain property regimes to transition to circular economies. Originality/value: The literature focused on property rights in waste has been very limited to date. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first to consider this question in detail from a legal perspective.

Local governments can be viewed as information producers, consumers, and brokers. Studied cities have developed comprehensive processes to support data collection. Data is not always used to inform policy design, implementation, and evaluation. Cities need to become more reflexive to continually learn from information. Monitoring and evaluation efforts need to be embedded into policy learning.