This is the final deliverable from a task within the national research program Mistra Closing the Loop (CTL). It aimed at analysing the barriers and drivers for industrial waste recycling as a part of transition towards a circular society. In doing so, we drew on the experiences from five projects participating in CTL. Found below is a graphical abstract capturing both of the logic behind the research and the main results.

Industrial recycling as part of a broader transition towards a more circular society faces an overwhelming number of obstacles on all system levels. Apart from being a source of despair, long, unprioritised lists of barriers can lead to diffusion of efforts and resources while attempting to tackle them all at once. In addition, these barriers have traditionally been regarded as separate entities, and little is known about the relationships between them. In this report, we argue for a shift in how we study and act on the barriers for circular transition. More specifically, we call for:

• a need to better understand the links, relationships and dynamics between different barriers and barrier groups• a need for methodological experimentation and more action-oriented research• a more targeted approach, where resources are pulled towards tackling a few barriers with a scientifically demonstrated potential to accelerate the change