Presentation short abstract

By tracing the mechanisms empirically, this research contributes to critical scholarship on political geographies of waste and advances theoretical understanding of how Global North circularity initiatives reshape lived realities in Global South contexts.

Presentation long abstract

Circular economy (CE) projects are predominantly examined inside the Global North, however their tangible impacts are increasingly evident in Global South contexts due to interrelated epistemic, financial, and material flows. Recognizing these flows is necessary since they pose important questions concerning environmental justice, especially in relation to the distribution of benefits and burdens along global value chains.

Using Dutch-Kenyan waste relations as a critical case study, this research demonstrates how this shift operates through three key mechanisms: (1) epistemic circulation that reframes waste and material circularity through market-oriented knowledge systems, (2) financial flows that are channeled toward formalized circular infrastructures, and (3) material flows that transform waste into tradeable commodities. Kenya's dual position as both a destination for Dutch waste exports and a recipient of Dutch CE development funding makes it an ideal site for examining how these mechanisms interact and materialize in practice.

Through an environmental justice lens, the paper argues that circular initiatives indeed extend market logics into previously non-market spheres - particularly waste systems that functioned as commons. This transformation creates new forms of territorialization that concentrate waste treatment activities in Global South contexts while undermining informally organized, community-based approaches. The result is the displacement and diminished agency of informal workers and communities who previously provided both environmental services and livelihood opportunities, effectively transforming Global South countries such as Kenya into subordinated links within global waste value chains.