Development and implementation of circular economy concepts in SMEs in the plastics sector

Conventional plastics economy is mostly linear and is therefore closely linked to resource consumption and waste generation. An alternative concept is the circular economy (CE), which aims to reduce environmental pollution. SMEs find it particularly difficult to implement CE due to a lack of information, human resources and time. At the same time, the range of plastics and possible applications is large, making it challenging to provide generally applicable recommendations. The implementation of a circular economy in all sectors of the economy is essential for a sustainable economy and this PhD project aims at supporting the transition in the plastics sector. An important aspect of this is the question of the extent to which circular concepts can be implemented in an ecologically favourable way. There are opportunities for co-operation with open-minded SMEs from the plastics sector.