Can the law turn rubbish into raw materials?

Earth’s resources are finite. However, our linear economy continues to exploit them unsustainably. The circular economy offers a way to break the pattern. The aim is to reuse, repair, and recycle products and materials for as long as possible. Circular practices lessen the burden on the environment, avoid waste, and can even power viable business models.

The legal framework for circular economies, which must encompass contracts, liability, and property regimes, is currently inadequate. The supply chains behind many products are global, and as a result, the solutions must be tailored to international contexts.

In my research, I study how the circular economy concept can be integrated into private law, such that we in Germany and around the world can move closer to having sustainable, circular economies and lifestyles.

 

 

Antonia Sommerfeld is a senior research fellow at the Institute.
She studies private international law and European private law and civil procedure with a current focus on sustainability and the circular economy, among other things.
More on Antonia Sommerfeld and her research can be found here.