Circular Economies in an Unequal World - Waste, Renewal and the Effects of Global Circularity

This landmark first anthropological volume on the topic of -circular economies- brings together a range of international scholars with regional specialisations in Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America to examine the concept''s global implications. Aspirations towards circular economies have become increasingly prominent around the world, with the EU adopting an ambitious -circular economy action plan-, and China enshrining its own circular economy (xunhuan jingji) in law since 2008. Yet until now, social anthropology has largely neglected the potentially deep social impacts of this concept, focusing instead on metrics of waste, despite its obvious implications through every level of the economy and society. This volume covers a diverse array of international actors, including waste-pickers, traders and policymakers, and the global movement of materials like gold, plastic and textiles. Through ethnographic and qualitative case studies, it exposes many of the tensions that exis