It sounds reassuring to think that the waste we produce as a society can be reused, for example to heat our homes. Federico Savini, Assistant Professor of Environmental Planning, Institutions and Politics at the University of Amsterdam, confirms this. ‘We may even consume more readily if we know that our waste is being recycled. Don't get me wrong, of course it’s important for our waste to be recycled, but recycling alone won’t solve the climate crisis. Even recycling still requires valuable raw materials, and this process also has its own emissions and impact.’

Savini therefore warns against a circular economy that depends on our waste and instead advocates a model in which ‘degrowth’ takes centre stage. ‘Companies that recycle waste often invest large sums of money in this and therefore want long-term prospects. For example, heating plants enter into contracts for up to 20 years with a city that stipulate how much and what type of waste they receive. A city’s heating system therefore becomes dependent on the waste that we produce, which also takes away an incentive to invest in other forms of renewable energy,’ says Savini. For him, the most important question is therefore: how can we optimally reuse and at the same time reduce waste?

 ‘For a degrowth model, we need more insights into current recycling processes and the forces at play in this field,’ says Savini. He was awarded an ERC Starting Grant to investigate this.

Research in five European cities

In five European cities, Savini will investigate how waste recycling regulation is implemented in day-to-day practice. ‘Waste is concentrated in cities, which therefore also have the greatest need to recycle and reduce waste.’ He focuses on the waste produced by industry and companies, the large-scale consumers, in order to gain a proper understanding of the economy of waste. ‘Only one third of all municipal waste is produced by households, two thirds come from the manufacturing industry.’ Savini focuses on three types of recycling processes: the recycling of construction waste (the largest waste stream), food waste and heat. When doing so, he looks at three levels of regulation: the legal measures that are taken to encourage companies to recycle, the spatial aspect of regulation and how waste is spread across a city, and finally the economic side of regulation and the contracts between cities and waste managers that determine who pays for waste processing.

Savini has chosen cities that are comparable in terms of waste production per inhabitant and a lack of space to store it, but that differ in terms of how advanced they are. These are Milan, Barcelona, Hamburg and Vienna, as well as Amsterdam. ‘In the public arena, Amsterdam sometimes profiles itself as a pioneer in this area,’ says Savini, ‘but in fact Amsterdam is at the bottom of the list. Waste recycling and the concept of a circular economy only got off to a late start here. The least recycling is carried out in Amsterdam, and even then it mainly takes place in order to generate heat.’

Professional field involved in research

Savini’s research will lead to a picture of the forces that are at play in this field and what is needed to prepare the urban economy for a degrowth model. ‘Changes will work out better for some players than for others,’ says Savini. For Savini it goes without saying that his research is relevant to the professional field, and that he explicitly includes it in his research. ‘I don't really see a huge difference between fundamental and applied research. In the end, all scientific research is relevant to society in some way.’

The project will start in September 2022 and run until 2027. Because the clock is ticking fast when it comes to the climate crisis, Savini will share the initial results very soon. Keep an eye on our website or follow us on Twitter for this.