Article:

Zeit- und verlustlos? Der Recycling-Kreislauf als ewiges Heilsversprechen

Currently, many actors from politics, industry, or the waste trade as well as consumers refer to the vision of a circular economy to solve the waste problem once and for all. In the history of waste, the idea that society can imitate nature’s «cycles» through recycling is a recurring figure, and a circular mode of thinking has characterized concepts of nature, material, and waste for centuries. This article examines some of these closed loop metaphors and confronts their promises with the demanding work and transformation processes of recycling. The longer historical tradition as well as the promise of salvation communicated by the closed loop metaphor can explain why more appropriate metaphors for handling waste have largely failed to gain any recognition so far.