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Environments
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Circular Economy in Waste Management: Challenges and Opportunities
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Circular Economy in Waste Management: Challenges and Opportunities

A special issue of Environments (ISSN 2076-3298).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2026 | Viewed by 1753

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Charisios Achillas

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Supply Chain Management, International Hellenic University, 60100 Katerini, Greece
Interests: reverse logistics; circular economy; environmental engineering
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Dimitrios Aidonis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Supply Chain Management, International Hellenic University, 60100 Katerini, Greece
Interests: operations research; supply chain management; sustainability
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The transition to a circular economy has emerged as a critical pathway to addressing the growing challenges of resource depletion, environmental degradation, and waste generation. By rethinking traditional linear models of “take–make–dispose”, the circular economy emphasizes the importance of closing material loops, extending product lifecycles, and minimizing waste through reuse, recycling, and regeneration. Waste management, as a cornerstone of this transition, plays a pivotal role in enabling the efficient recovery and reintegration of resources into the economy. Innovative strategies in waste management not only reduce environmental impacts but also unlock economic opportunities, fostering sustainable development and resilience.

This Special Issue, entitled “Circular Economy in Waste Management: Challenges and Opportunities”, seeks to explore the latest advancements, challenges, and opportunities in aligning waste management practices with circular economy principles. This Special Issue aims to provide a platform for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to share insights, evidence, and innovative solutions that contribute to the circular economy agenda. We invite contributions that address topics such as waste valorization, circular design, resource recovery technologies, policy frameworks, and behavioral interventions that promote sustainable waste management practices. Additionally, we welcome case studies, reviews, and interdisciplinary research that highlight the integration of circular economy principles into waste management systems.

The intersection of the circular economy and waste management offers fertile ground for transformative change, driving the shift towards sustainable consumption and production patterns. By fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange, this Special Issue aims to advance scientific understanding, inform policy development, and inspire practical solutions that accelerate the transition to a circular economy.

We encourage researchers, industry experts, and policymakers to contribute their expertise to this collective effort. Together, we can deepen our understanding of circular waste management systems and pave the way for a more sustainable, resource-efficient future.

Warm regards,

Dr. Charisios Achillas
Dr. Dimitrios Aidonis
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Environments is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • waste management
  • circular economy
  • closed-loop systems
  • resource efficiency
  • resource recovery
  • sustainable development
  • digital innovation
  • policy frameworks

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 1017 KB  
Article
Circular Economy Model for Educational Plastics Reprocessing in College Town Communities
by Krista Belisle, Zachary Brown, Max Gonzales, Natalie Lott, Matthew Noti, Jared Stoltzfus and Hao Zhang
Environments 2025, 12(11), 400; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments12110400 - 24 Oct 2025
Viewed by 568
Abstract
Plastic recycling has been a challenge worldwide due to various reasons, including limited profit margins, the demand for high-quality plastic reprocessing techniques to make products comparable to those from virgin materials, and challenges in sorting and processing. This problem became particularly urgent in [...] Read more.
Plastic recycling has been a challenge worldwide due to various reasons, including limited profit margins, the demand for high-quality plastic reprocessing techniques to make products comparable to those from virgin materials, and challenges in sorting and processing. This problem became particularly urgent in the small towns in the U.S., where plastic waste was shipped overseas for treatment, but now it is not accepted in some countries. This study aims to understand the plastic value chain and find the necessary factors for a circular economy model of both environmental and economic settings. In this study, an educational plastics reprocessing workspace was developed with manufacturing processes such as shredding, filament extruding, 3D printing, and injection molding. A series of products was developed to increase the value of the recycled polymers. In addition, quality control of recycled polymers such as polylactic acid (PLA), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG) was examined. By collaborating with a university manufacturing lab, this work illustrates how plastics can be collected, prepared, and reprocessed, serving as a platform for student learning and community outreach. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by presenting a case-based educational model for community-level plastic recycling and reprocessing in a college town context. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Circular Economy in Waste Management: Challenges and Opportunities)
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19 pages, 950 KB  
Article
Organization of Chemical Production Based on the Principles of Green Chemistry: Waste Recycling and Resource Chains in the Production of Rubber Products
by Aleksei I. Shinkevich, Tatiana V. Malysheva and Irina G. Ershova
Environments 2025, 12(10), 391; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments12100391 - 20 Oct 2025
Viewed by 571
Abstract
A new look at the concept of green chemistry from the side of the laws of production organization allows for the development of organizational solutions for achieving environmental friendliness of chemical–technological processes without capital-intensive modernization of production lines. The uniqueness of chemical production, [...] Read more.
A new look at the concept of green chemistry from the side of the laws of production organization allows for the development of organizational solutions for achieving environmental friendliness of chemical–technological processes without capital-intensive modernization of production lines. The uniqueness of chemical production, unlike most industries, is the maximum possibility of organizing a closed resource–waste production cycle. The purpose of the article is to develop solutions for organizing chemical production based on the principles of green chemistry with an emphasis on waste recycling and resource chains using the example of rubber product production. Analysis and critical assessment of publications and literary sources showed a shortage of research on organizational tools for creating green production systems with minimal resource losses and maximum product yield. Interpretation of the laws of production organization in the projection of “green” chemistry made it possible to identify six vectors for creating sustainable production with a high strength of interrelation between the laws of production organization and the principles of green chemistry. The solutions obtained in most cases are aimed at increasing the closed nature of production and organizing circular resource chains. Using the example of rubber tire and cover production, trends of waste recycling prevalence (69%) were revealed compared to their disposal (31%). Based on artificial neural networks, a model of usefully used waste in circular resource chains was built, where three variables act as factors of sustainable production: the mass of waste returned to its own production cycle; the mass of waste returned to the production cycle of another enterprise, and the mass of waste sent for storage or disposal at landfills. The highest rate of beneficially used waste in circular resource chains is achieved in the third scenario, which prioritizes reintegrating waste back into the production cycle (57.5%). The transition from one scenario to another does not result in a polar shift in this rate, which instead varies within a range of 50–58%. The proposed solutions can be used by enterprises when choosing engineering directions and tools based on the synthesis of “green chemistry” concepts and production organization laws. Prospects for the development of the topic lie in the development of the methodology for organizing environmental engineering in the proposed directions and implementation tools as well as research into the technology of organizing closed low-waste production processes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Circular Economy in Waste Management: Challenges and Opportunities)
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