Building Bridges Across Disciplines: Circular Connect UM's Second Session on Exploring Circular Economy Research Across Disciplines

The session was opened by Nur Gizem Yalcin with an introduction to Circular Connect UM and a presentation of the updated UM Circular Economy Expertise Map, featuring 91 researchers and 232 publications across UM faculties. The presentations that followed brought this diversity to life, showing how circular economy questions are being explored through history, urban studies, technology, law, economics and international regulation. 

From FASoS, Miriam Meissner and Darian Meacham challenged dominant images of the circular city by asking who benefits from circular urban development and how ideas such as sufficiency, commons and post-growth planning can support just cities. Olav Hofland looked to Maastricht’s industrial past, showing how De Sphinx, a ceramics company, practised circularity such as reusing ceramic waste, reducing heat loss and finding uses for organic residues. Mart van Uden and Fernando Lit turned to the chemical industry, exploring the Safe-and-Sustainable-by-Design framework and plasma technology for alternative chemical manufacturing processes, while highlighting how research practices shape which technological alternatives become visible.      

From FoL, Gian Luca Traverso examined the changing position of the consumer within a circular economy. Whereas conventional consumer law largely protects people in their role as purchasers, circularity introduces new aspects such as user responsibility, participation and repair. Constantijn van Aartsen questioned how dominant ideas about markets and economic value may influence the possibilities for circular business models. Dominic Coppens showed how international and EU regulation, with the example of the plastics treaty, makes the circular transition not only an environmental challenge, but also a political and legal one.      

Together, the presentations showed that circularity is not only about materials and technologies, but also about how value, responsibility, justice and desirable futures are discussed, imagined, and governed. Bringing these perspectives into lively conversation is at the heart of Circular Connect UM, as well as creating space for new connections, shared questions and interdisciplinary collaboration. The session concluded with a guided tour of Tracé by Joris Roosen, offering participants a closer look at the Limburg Societal Archive and its astonishing building. 

A warm thank you to all presenters and participants, our faculty collaborators Cyrus Mody, Joris Roosen, Caroline Cauffman and Anja van Bogaert, and Tracé for hosting us. We look forward to continuing these conversations in the next Circular Connect UM sessions!  

Circular Connect UM is a collaborative effort between ERCE and the Sustainability Office.