Governing the circular economy: Assessing the capacity to implement resource-oriented sanitation and waste management systems in low- and middle-income countries

Transitioning to a circular economy requires strategic investments in infrastructure, but it also requires policy coherence, coordination and collaboration among stakeholders, across sectors and governance levels.

This paper identifies factors that facilitate or limit governance capacity to adopt circularity in the form of resource recovery from urban organic waste streams.

The authors conducted a literature review and semi-structured interviews using the Governance Capacity Framework in a case study of Naivasha, Kenya. The findings emphasize the importance of leadership from the public sector in co-developing visionary strategies for circularity and using their convening power to facilitate cross-sectoral collaboration.

Moreover, they identify a need to link theoretical circular economy concepts to initiatives in local communities of practice. The insights in this paper are relevant for advancing the understanding of challenges for governance of the circular economy, especially in low- and middle-income countries.