Paper short abstract:

In my presentation, I will explore how in the context of searching for environmental solutions to e-waste recycling in New Delhi, instead of the threats of a linear economy, the potential for "closing material loops" is threatened by a vicious circle of substandard practices.

Paper long abstract:

Circular economy is usually contrasted to linear economy. Both these concepts are fast gaining ground in policymakers' imagination, because of the former's promise of cutting externalities and infinite material renewal. However, in India, where informal practices of material repurposing and reuse prevail, the idea of a circular economy is in fact defined against threats of other material circles and loops. This abstract builds on twelve months of ethnographic research with a Producers' Responsibility Organisation (PRO), in New Delhi, that aims to develop channels for environmentally responsible e-waste and plastics recycling. The PRO, in an attempt to build a business of complying with the law and Extended Producers' Responsibility (EPR), battles against various vicious circles and organic dismantling and material recovery practices that feed back into production.

In my presentation, I will explore how in the context of searching for environmental solutions to e-waste recycling in New Delhi, instead of the threats of a linear economy, the potential for "closing material loops" is threatened by a vicious circle of substandard practices. As a consequence, although company narratives and practices assume a straightforward equivalence between responsible recycling and circular economy, I will ethnographically show how the two are not necessarily the same. This abstract seeks to raise the questions, what does it take to establish circular economy and what is at stake in satisfying corporate obligations of compliance and efforts to incorporate responsible practices? What other kinds of circles and loops become visible when concentrating on establishing the required accountability and transparency?