Advancing the circular economy for electronic waste: a systems-based review of barriers, solutions, and actionable pathways

E-Waste Management in Office Environments: A Systematic Review of Strategies and Challenges

The rapid growth of electronic devices in organizational workplaces has created critical environmental challenges driven by increasing e-waste accumulation. Although office environments contribute substantially to global e-waste generation, existing research remains fragmented, with limited comprehensive synthesis of management strategies, enabling technologies, and implementation barriers. This systematic literature review (SLR) examines e-waste management in office settings, synthesizing evidence across organizational, technological, and policy dimensions. Following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, we searched the Scopus database (October 2025), retrieving 883 documents. After multi-stage screening based on predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria, 80 peer-reviewed articles published between 2020 and 2025 were selected for full-text analysis. Findings reveal that office e-waste is dominated by computing equipment (45–60%), with 30–50% of decommissioned devices stored rather than recycled, primarily due to data security concerns. Effective management strategies encompass Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) policies, circular economy frameworks, and emerging technologies such as IoT monitoring, blockchain traceability, and AI-assisted sorting. Adoption, however, remains constrained by infrastructure limitations, organizational inertia, stakeholder awareness gaps, and inadequate regulatory enforcement, particularly in developing economies. This review provides the first comprehensive SLR specifically targeting office e-waste management, offering integrated recommendations for organizations, policymakers, and technology providers aligned with ESG and SDG frameworks.

From Waste Management to Strategic Integration: A Systematic Review of the Thematic and Conceptual Evolution of the Circular Economy in Agri-Food Systems (2018–2025)

The adoption of circular economy (CE) in agri-food systems has been accelerated by rising environmental pressures and resource inefficiencies. This systematic review examines the thematic and conceptual evolution of CE research in agri-food systems between 2018 and 2025, focusing on the transition from waste management toward the strategic integration of circular principles across food value chains. By combining bibliometric mapping with a structured literature review, the study analyzes publication trends, intellectual structures, dominant research themes, and emerging directions within the field. The findings reveal a rapid growth in scientific output and a shift from conceptual frameworks toward applied management strategies, including performance measurement, organizational innovation, and decision-support tools. Technological solutions for waste valorization increasingly support regenerative food system models. Despite these advances, important research gaps remain, particularly regarding geographical concentration, the limited integration of consumer perspectives, and the need for broader assessment frameworks capable of evaluating the systemic impacts of circular strategies. Although nutrition-related aspects appear only marginally in the current literature, they represent a promising avenue for future interdisciplinary research rather than a dominant research theme. Overall, the field is evolving toward a more systemic and implementation-oriented perspective capable of supporting resilient and sustainable food systems.

An Integrated ESG–Circular Economy Framework for Hydrogen Production from Plastic Waste: Theoretical Foundations and Technical Assessment

The imperative to decarbonise industrial systems whilst simultaneously addressing the global plastic waste crisis has substantially accelerated scholarly and policy interest in waste-to-hydrogen technologies. Existing evaluation frameworks, however, operate at corporate reporting level rather than technology-specific assessment, creating a significant gap in decision-support tools for investors, policymakers and project developers. This paper addresses that gap by developing the Integrated ESG–Circular Economy (ESG–CE) Framework, a structured KPI assessment system purpose-built for plastic-waste-to-hydrogen production systems. The framework synthesises Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) criteria with circular economy performance indicators to enable technology evaluation across three interdependent pillars: environmental impact (lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions, energy efficiency and waste diversion), social inclusion (employment, equity and community engagement) and governance transparency (disclosure quality, regulatory alignment and green finance access). The technical foundation of the framework is grounded in a rigorous assessment of pyrolysis–steam reforming–water–gas shift (WGS)–pressure swing adsorption (PSA) conversion pathways, demonstrating hydrogen yields of 600–700 kg h⁻1 from a 2,000 kg h⁻1 mixed-plastic feed, with energy efficiencies of 60–75% and lifecycle greenhouse gas reductions relative to conventional steam methane reforming (SMR). The framework's three-pillar structure draws on established international standards, including Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), the EU Taxonomy and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Circular Economy (CE) Guidelines, whilst extending them through a structured KPI assessment system tailored to waste-valorisation contexts. To the author's knowledge, this is the first framework to integrate ESG criteria and CE indicators specifically for waste-to-hydrogen systems in the MENA context. The framework is designed to permit contextual calibration across emerging economies pursuing circular hydrogen transitions, with particular relevance for resource-rich, waste-generating nations in the MENA region and beyond. It should be noted that the framework is conceptual at this stage; empirical validation through pilot-plant data is an essential next step and is identified as a priority for future research. Whilst the GRI, TCFD, the EU Taxonomy and the OECD CE Guidelines operate at corporate reporting and policy level, the ESG-CE Framework integrates process-level technical assessment of the pyrolysis-steam reforming-WGS-PSA conversion pathway with ESG criteria and CE indicators within a single structured KPI assessment system. This technology-specific integration constitutes the principal contribution of the framework.

Circular economy implementation in maritime industrial processes: a systematic review of barriers, digital enablers, and transition frameworks

The maritime industry is under increasing pressure to replace linear, resource-intensive production and disposal models with circular systems that reduce waste, retain material value, and support decarbonization across vessel lifecycles. However, knowledge of circular economy implementation remains fragmented across shipbuilding, vessel operations, ports, and ship recycling. This study synthesizes the existing literature and develops an integrated framework for maritime circularity transition. A systematic literature review and theory-building thematic synthesis were conducted using 53 studies published between 2020 and 2026. The selected studies were analyzed to identify recurring barriers, digital enablers, organizational capabilities, and transition mechanisms associated with circular economy implementation in the maritime sector. Three main findings emerged. First, key barriers include limited design for disassembly, incomplete material inventories, fragmented lifecycle data, inconsistent regulation, weak reverse-logistics systems, and misaligned economic incentives. Second, digital enablers—including lifecycle databases, digital twins, blockchain-enabled traceability, Internet of Things systems, artificial intelligence, and digital product passports—can improve material transparency, predictive maintenance, component recovery, and end-of-life value retention. Third, the principal transition mechanisms involve material and lifecycle baselining, digital infrastructure development, circular design, operational circularity, stakeholder alignment, and ecosystem integration. Based on these findings, the study proposes the Maritime Circularity Maturity Model (MCMM) to assess organizational readiness and the Integrated Circular Transition Framework (ICTF) to guide implementation. The transition toward maritime circularity requires the coordinated development of circular capabilities, digital infrastructure, lifecycle data governance, regulatory alignment, and cross-sector collaboration. The proposed models provide a structured basis for assessing maturity, prioritizing interventions, and supporting the implementation of circular economy principles across the maritime value chain.

Aligning Digitalization and Circular Economy Policies Towards a Zero-Waste Construction Sector: A Comparative Analysis of the EU, UK, and China

The construction sector accounts for over 30% of global material extraction and up to 40% of solid waste, making Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW) a major sustainability challenge. This study applies the Digital Circularity Alignment Model (DCAM), supported by evidence from the RECONMATIC project, to compare policy and technological transition pathways toward circular construction in the European Union, the United Kingdom, and China. The analysis examines interactions between regulatory instruments and digital infrastructures, including Building Information Modelling (BIM) and Digital Product Passports. Results reveal a global shift toward mandatory lifecycle transparency, where digital tools function as compliance infrastructures. Crucially, the comparative review identifies distinct governance drivers: EU supranational regulation, UK procurement-driven frameworks, and Chinese state-led macroeconomic planning. Despite these differences in governance approaches, progress remains constrained by fragmented data ecosystems, limited interoperability, and uneven institutional capacity. The findings show that the principal barrier to scaling circularity is not technological availability but the misalignment between policy frameworks, data standards, and implementation mechanisms. Achieving a zero-waste construction sector by 2050 therefore requires interoperable data ecosystems and stronger policy–technology alignment.

CIRCULAR ECONOMY THINKING TO DEVELOP SUSTAINABLE ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS, BUSINESS MODELS AND DESIGNS