This interdisciplinary conference aims to foster dialogue between legal scholars, management researchers, and the broader social sciences to examine fifty years of EU Waste Laws and Management, and to discuss the challenges shaping the next decades. Particular attention will be given to the tension between EU-level harmonisation and local implementation, as well as to power dynamics among public, private, and civil-society actors in the development of waste and circular-economy policies.

 

Object of the Conference

Adopted in 1975 in response to the increase in Waste quantity and the rise of environmental awareness, the first European Waste Fromework Directive (Directive 75/442/EEC) initiated a movement of continental harmonization (Calster, 2015, 2006; Sadeleer & Bonichot, 2016; Sadeleer, 2014). Fifty years later, facing the grand challenges (George et al., 2016), European Waste Laws (EU WL) evolved in the era of the Green Deal and the Green Taxonomy (Schellekens & Michelot, 2025). It is necessary to assess their effects from 1975, the cause of their success and failure, and to draw perspectives for the next 50 years.

The main tension we want to highlight is how the common legal framework, born of political compromises, confronts heterogeneous national, regional, and local realities and actors: the centralized impulse of the EU meets the principle of subsidiarity, uneven administrative capacities, distinct legal trajectories (Kuhlmann et al., 2025; Orange, 2006; Torre & Bourdin, 2015), and asymmetrical power relations between public, private, and associative actors (Corvellec, 2025; Corvellec et al., 2022; Delalieux, 2022; Dufour, 2025; Durand, 2024; Ntsondé & Aggeri, 2022; Sadeleer, 2006; Westra et al., 2013). Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes and Deposit-Refund System (DRS) epitomize these tensions, both between centralized legal design and localized implementation, and between public and private actors, but also weak and strong sustainability (Aggeri et al., 2023).

The conference seeks to explore this tension by adopting a twofold perspective. First, it will examine the genesis and transformations of EU WL, its sources of inspiration, its effects on Member States and beyond, and the multilevel governance of Waste Management (WM). Second, it will analyze the territorial processes of implementation, where national, regional, and local autonomy often foster innovation (Bourdin & Jacquet, 2025; Laureti et al., 2024; Zapata & Zapata Campos, 2019): prevention and management tools and instruments, financial and legal arrangements, and their impacts, particularly with regard to planetary boundaries (Richardson et al., 2023; Rockström et al., 2009).

In an interdisciplinary perspective inspired by discard studies (Liboiron & Lepawsky, 2022) and works from Opening The Bin (Johansson & Ek, 2020; Stowell et al., 2024), the conference is particularly interested in contributions in Law and Management but also other Social and Human Sciences, highlighting social, democratic, policing, and judicial dimensions, as well as controversies surrounding infrastructures or landmark litigation cases.

In addition, the conference welcomes contributions analyzing other European and national policies — whether command-and-control, market-based, or information-based (Eckert et al., 2025) — addressing any form of Waste regulation. Relevant topics may include EPR schemes, DRS, landfill or incineration taxes, material taxes, WEEE (Waste electrical and electronic equipment), Single-Use Plastics, Packaging and Landfill Directives, as well as prevention and circular economy policies (end-of-waste) and related regulatory instruments.

Case studies and international comparisons, within Europe (and beyond), as well as practitioner perspectives from the public sector, are strongly encouraged.

Thematic Areas

Part I – Evolutions in Law and Governance of Waste in the European Union Since the 1st WFD

Section 1. The genesis, past, and future evolutions of the European Union Waste Laws (EU WL) and its reception by Member States (MS)

• 1. The sources of EU WL

What have been the main drivers and obstacles to the development of EU WL from the 1975 1st WFD to 2025 at every levels, and what conditions enable further progress? From which MS and foreign legal systems does it draw inspiration? How has the ecological and social philosophy of EU WL evolved over successive directives and their territorialization? How has WL been affected by the Green Deal and the Green Taxonomy?

• 2. The dynamics and effects of EU WL on MS

Conversely, what effects has EU WL had on the law of Member States and other countries? Have some MS refused to transpose certain provisions, while others went beyond the minimum objectives set by EU WL? How have these voluntarist or resistant stances, in turn, influenced the development of EU WL, and how might they shape its future evolution?

Section 2. The multilevel governance of public policies of Waste Management in the EU (EU WM) since the 1st WFD and its future perspective

• 3. The distribution of competences in WM across the EU

Who decides on the final destinations of Waste, whether recycling, incineration, or landfilling, and how? How has the distribution of competences related to WM evolved among States, regions, municipalities, and other levels of government in EU Member States since 1975? What legal disputes have marked these evolutions? What effects have decentralization or recentralization reforms had, have and will they have on WM? What room for adaptation do, and should, local organizing authorities have?

• 4. The multilevel governance of WM in the EU

What management challenges and conflicts do institutional actors responsible for implementing WM face? What prevents local organizing authorities from adequately addressing the ecological and social challenges of Waste? How have, and should, Member States and regions structure planning and ensure intra- and interterritorial consistency? Which vertical coordination mechanisms actually work, which ones fail, and why? What roles have been, and should be, given to associations and companies in shaping and implementing WM in the EU, and how? How does EU law both support and constrain top-down and bottom-up approaches?

Part II – Public Policies for Waste Management in the EU (EU WM) and Their Effects

Section 1. Instrument of WM and their ecological effects

• 5. Territorial tools and instruments of EU WM

Which management tools and instruments (information campaigns, family and/or neighborhood challenges, financial incentives, installation of surveillance cameras, fines) have been adopted by organizing authorities to comply with the requirements of EU WL, and why? Which legal forms (direct management, public enterprises, public procurement, delegated management of public services) have been chosen, why and how? What financial arrangements (local, regional, national) support prevention, reuse, collection, and treatment of Waste? How has the ecological and social philosophy of EU WL evolved across directives and their territorialization?

• 6. …and their ecological effects

Are the objectives of EU and Member States’ WM suited to today’s ecological challenges? How are consolidated public statistics on prevention and recycling calculated? What are their reliability and limitations? Are the impacts of MWSM on planetary boundaries assessed at local, regional, national, and continental levels? Do gaps exist between the prescriptions of EU WL and Member States, and the actual performance of WM? How can such discrepancies be explained?

Section 2. Social, democratic, policing, and judicial challenges of WM in the EU

• 7. Injustices and protests related to WM in the EU

How do EU WL and WM in the EU and its Member States address injustices arising from the production and treatment of Waste? What are the effects of trade-offs between advantaged and disadvantaged territories, between urban and rural areas, or between North and South in EU and national WM? How are costs and revenues shared along the chain and across levels of governance? What are the distributive effects of tariffs and taxation (incentives, fees, eco-contributions) across territories? How do local coalitions form in support of, or in opposition to, infrastructure projects, Pay-As-You-Trow (PAYT) or EPR schemes?

• 8. Policing and litigation in Waste Management

Have lawsuits won by opponents of WM initiatives influenced EU law? What are the landmark cases of conflict between national regulation and the European legal framework, or between different levels of competence (state vs. regional, organizing authority vs. company, etc.)? Do organizing authorities resort to technological and policing devices to criminalize infractions? What are the impacts and limitations of such repressive policies?

Special session : Narratives and discursive

What narratives and discourses shape the practices of public, private, and civic actors in implementing the EU WL? Which discourses have been mobilized to establish the circular economy as a new legal paradigm within the EU WL? How do these narratives reframe Waste and resource policies—from sustainability and reduction to competitiveness and industrial strategy? How do political, economic, and activist framings influence the perceived legitimacy and effectiveness of instruments such as EPR, Deposit Refund System (DRS), Pay-As-You-Trow (PAYT), or progressive tariffs?

Scientific Organization and Dissemination

The conference will be structured around academic sessions and roundtables involving practitioners and decision-makers. Participants are also invited to propose thematic sessions or roundtable, which will be confirmed if a sufficient number of related contributions are received.

Sessions may be recorded and made available for broader dissemination after the event. In addition, a collective book the best contributions will be prepared for publication as an edited volume, ensuring the lasting visibility and valorization of the conference outcomes.

Submission Guidelines

Researchers, practitioners, and stakeholders engaged in Waste Law and Management are invited to submit a paper proposal (maximum 500 words)

before 15 February 2026.

Proposals should include:

• A title.
• An abstract presenting the research question, methodology, theoretical and/or empirical approach.
• A short bibliography.
• A brief author description (affiliation, discipline, contact information).
• Indication of interest in moderating a thematic session or roundtable.

Indication of interest in publication in the planned collective volume.

Proposals must be submit on the Science Conf website of the event.

Timeline

• 15 February 2026: Short paper submission deadline (max. 500 words)
• 1 April 2026: Notification of acceptance or rejection
• 15 September 2026: Submission of long version / working paper (max 7,000 words)
• 8–9 October 2026: Conference in Paris

Scientific Committee

Chair: Prof. Dr. Guillaume Delalieux, Organization Studies, La Rochelle Université

• Prof. Dr. Sabine Barles, Urbanisme, Université Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne
• Dr. Pascale Martin-Bidou, Public Law, Université Paris-Panthéon-Assas
• Prof. Dr. Sébastien Bourdin, Economic Geography, EM Normandie
• Prof. Dr. Véronique Chanut, Organization Studies, University of Panthéon-Assas
• Prof. Dr. Elizabeth Couzineau, Organization Studies, PPA Business School
• Prof. Dr. Mathieu Durand, Regional and urban planning, Le Mans Université
• Prof. Dr. Pierre Féniès, Organization Studies, University of Panthéon-Assas
• Dr. Elias Van Gool, Environmental Law, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
• Prof. Dr. Peter C. Lorson, Business Administration, Universität Rostock
• ProfDr. Étienne Maclouf, Organization Studies, Université Panthéon-Assas
• Prof. Dr. Agnès Michelot, Public Law, La Rochelle Université
• Dr. Emilie Moysan-Jeannard, Public Law, Le Mans Université
• Dr. Joël Ntsondé, Organization Studies, ISTEC. Prof. Em
• Dr. Gérald Orange, Organization Studies, Université de Rouen
• Dr. Alison Stowel, Organization Studies, Lancaster University
• Dr. Peter Ulrich, Local Government Studies, University of Potsdam
• Dr. Jonas Voorter, Environmental Law, Hasselt University. Prof
• Dr. Patrik Zapata, Public Administration, University of Gothenburg.

Those wishing to join the Scientific Committee are invited to express their interest by email. Communications from members of the Scientific Committee are welcome. All rules regarding conflicts of interest will be strictly respected throughout the reviewing process.

Organization Committee (OC)

Chair : Alexandre Camino, Organization Studies, Université Paris-Panthéon-Assas

• Grégory De Boe, Organization Studies, Université catholique de Louvain
• Houyam Boudaouine, Organization Studies, Université de Montpellier
• Moussa Coulibaly, Economy, Bordeaux School of Economics (BSE)
• Jeanne Faye, Organization Studies, Aix-Marseille Université
• Clémence Lepla, Private Law, Université de Lille
• Dr. Mathis Navard, Information and Communication, Touraine Propre
• Yamissa Ouattara, Public Law, La Rochelle Université
• Ophélie Saint-Pe, Political Science, Science Po Bordeaux (to be confirmed)
• N’nan Tessougue, Private Law, Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en- Yvelines