Keywords: action research, system-based collaboration, social impact, anticipation

Thomas works with the field of circular economy – reduction of waste, reusage and recycling of residues and waste products including plastic waste, construction waste and organic waste.

In 2017, a number of Danish municipalities, waste companies and Roskilde University came  together in a collaboration supported by the Capital Region to accelerate the transformation of the municipalities to circular processes. In the Partnership for Circular Municipalities, the partners have developed and implemented six pilot projects covering various areas such as construction, recycling, procurement, textiles, and industrial waste. The pilot projects have shown the advantages and challenges of a transition to a circular economy and are a good example of how the green transition must be carried out as a group.  The cooperation between the municipality, region, waste companies, and knowledge institutions is crucial to get the concrete efforts implemented, and the project has generated concrete experiences that can be used to scale circular efforts in several municipalities and regions.

Thomas comments that participation and/or deliberation of the different relevant stakeholders, a collective and pluralistic identification of norms and solutions is important for the future of sustainable solutions.