Participatory Action Research and the Circularity of Plastic: Supporting the Itinerant Waste Buyers in Banyuwangi, Indonesia

Prisilia Resolute; Anne Scheinberg; M.S. Oktamalandi; Gifta Oktavia Fajriyanti

doi:10.55845/joce-2026-41288

Authors

Prisilia Resolute Indonesia Solid Waste Association, Indonesia, and Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, UK Author https://orcid.org/0009-0005-8464-5758
Anne Scheinberg Springloop Cooperatie UA, the Netherlands, and Antioch University, Keene New Hampshire, USA Author
M.S. Oktamalandi Indonesia Solid Waste Association, Indonesia Author
Gifta Oktavia Fajriyanti Indonesia Solid Waste Association, Indonesia Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55845/joce-2026-41288

Keywords:

Circular Economy, Plastic Recycling, Recognition, Itinerant Waste Buyers, Participatory Action Research

Abstract

This paper explores the interaction between Participatory Action Research (PAR) and the Circular Economy (CE) through a study of itinerant waste buyers (IWBs) in Banyuwangi, Indonesia. Using PAR, which was operationalised through appreciative inquiry and cooperative inquiry, IWBs were engaged as co-researchers to co-create knowledge and strengthen plastic circularity practices. The findings show that PAR embeds recognition within CE at multiple levels: validating informal expertise in everyday recycling (micro), strengthening trust-based market relations (meso), and exposing structural gaps in policy and product design (macro). Empirically, co-designed interventions, such as improved weighing, storage, and communication, enhanced plastic collection, and modestly improved livelihoods. However, circularity remains constrained by the low value and material complexity of plastics, as well as unequal market and policy conditions. The study argues that CE is not purely technical but socially embedded and that PAR provides a critical pathway to align circular economy transitions with the knowledge, agency, and realities of informal waste workers.

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