The Circular Economy, as it is most often picked up in urban policy, government and scientific debate, is often presented as transformative, but it is reformist at best. In fact, the Circular Economy is so seductive exactly because it promises to reduce environmental impacts without questioning the cultural and institutional foundations of the economy as we know it. In this short article, I unveil the environmental, socio-economic and managerial pitfalls of the Circular Economy, and conclude by suggesting three areas of intervention to address them: seriously combating illicit and illegal activity in key sectors and in terms of labour, giving more prominence to the value retention principles of reject, reduce and reuse, and engaging in a serious and democratic policy debate about where a Circular Economy should be heading.

The Circular Economy, as it is most often picked up in urban policy, government and scientific debate, is often presented as transformative, but it is reformist at best. In fact, the Circular Economy is so seductive exactly because it promises to reduce environmental impacts without questioning the cultural and institutional foundations of the economy as we know it. In this short article, I unveil the environmental, socio-economic and managerial pitfalls of the Circular Economy, and conclude by suggesting three areas of intervention to address them: seriously combating illicit and illegal activity in key sectors and in terms of labour, giving more prominence to the value retention principles of reject, reduce and reuse, and engaging in a serious and democratic policy debate about where a Circular Economy should be heading.

The Circular Economy, as it is most often picked up in urban policy, government and scientific debate, is often presented as transformative, but it is reformist at best. In fact, the Circular Economy is so seductive exactly because it promises to reduce environmental impacts without questioning the cultural and institutional foundations of the economy as we know it. In this short article, I unveil the environmental, socio-economic and managerial pitfalls of the Circular Economy, and conclude by suggesting three areas of intervention to address them: seriously combating illicit and illegal activity in key sectors and in terms of labour, giving more prominence to the value retention principles of reject, reduce and reuse, and engaging in a serious and democratic policy debate about where a Circular Economy should be heading.