BARRIERS TO THE IMPLEMENTATION AND FUNCTIONING OF THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN ROMANIA
BARRIERS TO THE IMPLEMENTATION AND FUNCTIONING OF THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN ROMANIA

Summary/Abstract: The article follows the transition of SMEs to the circular economy. Their shift to the circular economy requires a change in the way of life and consumer behavior. There is a huge untapped potential for SMEs in terms of waste recovery, access to secondary or cheaper resources, starting new economic activities through new business models based on the processes of reconsolidation, repair, maintenance, recycling, as well as the ecological design of the products. The article highlights that SMEs have failed to explore this potential because of regulatory, administrative, technical and cultural barriers that are systemic barriers. Also, the article shows that removing identified barriers can have significant positive economic effects in terms of retained value and employment. In Romania, the economic factors for the adoption of circular practices are common factors that come from the cost side and constitute the main barriers to the adoption of circular measures.

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