文章基本信息

标题：UK Government Policy and the Transition to a Circular Nutrient Economy
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作者：Andy Yuille ; Shane Rothwell ; Lynsay Blake 等
期刊名称：Sustainability
印刷版ISSN：2071-1050
出版年度：2022
卷号：14
期号：6
页码：3310
DOI：10.3390/su14063310
语种：English
出版社：MDPI, Open Access Journal
摘要：The “circular economy” is an increasingly influential concept linking economic and environmental policy to enable sustainable use of resources. A crucial although often overlooked element of this concept is a circular nutrient economy, which is an economy that achieves the minimization of nutrient losses during the production, processing, distribution, and consumption of food and other products, as well as the comprehensive recovery of nutrients from organic residuals at each of these stages for reuse in agricultural production. There are multiple interconnecting barriers to transitioning from the current linear economic system to a more circular one, requiring strongly directional government policy. This paper uses interpretive policy analysis to review six UK government strategies to assess their strengths and weaknesses in embracing nutrient circularisation. Our analysis highlights the acute underrepresentation of the circular nutrient economy concept in these strategies as well as the potential to reorient the current policy towards its development. We find significant barriers to transition presented by ambiguity in key policy terms and proposals, the use of inappropriate indicators, the lack of a systematic approach to key sustainability objectives, and the presence of a “techno-optimist imaginary” throughout the strategies. We develop these findings to make recommendations to help integrate definitions, objectives, and activities across the policy domains necessary for the operational development of a circular nutrient economy.