Journal of Economic, Finance Research and Review (JEFRR)

Circular Waste Reduction and Single-Use Plastic Elimination in Large Industrial Complexes: A Conceptual Framework for Supply Chain and Site-Level Policy Intervention

Ekelemu, Oghenekaro

5 September 2026 · Vol. 2, Issue 9, pp. 602-621

DOI: 10.65150/EP-jefrr/V2E9/2026-02

Abstract

A large industrial complex consumes single-use plastic in quantities that are substantial in absolute terms and invisible in its reporting, because the consumption is distributed across catering, packaging, personal protective equipment, consumables and contractor supply, and no function owns the total. Elimination programmes accordingly begin with a measurement problem rather than a substitution problem, and those that begin with substitution characteristically achieve visible change in the catering stream while the larger operational streams continue unexamined. This paper develops a conceptual framework for plastic elimination and circular waste reduction in industrial complexes, organised around the argument that the site boundary is the wrong unit of analysis and that intervention effectiveness is determined principally at the procurement and specification stage. The framework comprises four elements: a stream classification distinguishing plastic entering the site by route and by the function that controls each route; an intervention hierarchy ordering avoidance, substitution, reuse and recycling by effectiveness rather than by visibility; a supply chain specification layer treating packaging as a purchased attribute subject to specification like any other; and a measurement approach based on entry rather than on disposal, since disposal measurement systematically undercounts. The paper engages the critical literature on circular economy claims, including the rebound and displacement arguments, and takes the position that a site-level programme should be justified on waste management and stewardship grounds it can actually deliver rather than on circularity claims it cannot substantiate.

Keywords: circular economy, single-use plastics, waste reduction, industrial complexes, procurement specification, industrial symbiosis, waste measurement, environmental management.

Read the full text on Journal of Economic, Finance Research and Review →The full peer-reviewed article and PDF are hosted on the journal's site (the version of record).

Ekelemu, & Oghenekaro (2026). Circular Waste Reduction and Single-Use Plastic Elimination in Large Industrial Complexes: A Conceptual Framework for Supply Chain and Site-Level Policy Intervention. Journal of Economic, Finance Research and Review, 2(9), 602-621. https://doi.org/10.65150/EP-jefrr/V2E9/2026-02

@article{Ekelemu2026,
  title   = {Circular Waste Reduction and Single-Use Plastic Elimination in Large Industrial Complexes: A Conceptual Framework for Supply Chain and Site-Level Policy Intervention},
  author  = {Ekelemu and Oghenekaro},
  journal = {Journal of Economic, Finance Research and Review},
  year    = {2026},
  volume  = {2},
  number  = {9},
  pages   = {602-621},
  doi     = {10.65150/EP-jefrr/V2E9/2026-02},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.65150/EP-jefrr/V2E9/2026-02}
}

← Back to all articles