איך שהמעגל מסתובב לו: על הכלכלה המעגלית והרגולציה של מודל כלכלי-סביבתי חדש

This study examines the evolution of the circular economy model in Israel, analyzing the barriers to its expansion, with an emphasis on regulatory barriers. Although the circular economy has the potential of providing vast gains in terms of efficiency in production and consumption processes while reducing waste and environmental pollution, moving beyond the linear economic model is not occurring autonomously. Supportive policies are required to create markets, provide incentives, and apply mandatory requirements that support the closing of the material cycle. These policies are examined in relation to the stages of the cycle, starting with raw material mining, through product design, production, and consumption, and ending with the use of by-products, by means of waste reduction, reuse, repair, and recycling. In Israel, the Governmental Decision on Green Growth of 2011 was the landmark policy that stimulated the discussion on the move towards a circular economy. This was followed by the Green Growth Policy of 2013. However, implementation of this policy document has been slow, with many of the necessary regulations either delayed or derailed. In this study we interviewed 32 stakeholders and experts. Our analysis of these interviews and more than 50 legislative and policy documents indicates there are three principal areas in which the absence of supportive regulation effectively impedes the advancement of a circular economy in Israel. First, there is a lack of regulation which would encourage the creation of an active market for secondary materials and make these materials more attractive through the price mechanism. Secon, there is an absence of standards for product design promoting a circular life cycle, reuse, repair or recycling of product materials, necessary for contributing secondary materials to the market. Thir, policy needs to improve the internalization of costs of waste landfilling, allowing recycling to become a more attractive option. Yet, even if these changes in regulation do occur, they will not serve as a panacea, but as a crucial first step towards a circular economy. Profound and ongoing changes in existing policies are necessary to create the interfaces between stages of the material cycle and support closing the loop.