From Technological Progress to Systemic Implementation: Governance Barriers to Circular Rigid Polyurethane Foam Recycling in Poland

Abstract The transition toward a circular economy depends not only on technological innovation, but also on the governance conditions that enable or constrain its implementation in practice. Rigid polyurethane foam (RPUF), widely used in construction and refrigeration, exemplifies this challenge: despite considerable advances in chemical recycling technologies, their wider implementation, particularly for heterogeneous end-of-life waste streams, remains limited. This study investigates the governance conditions, coordination mechanisms, and institutional barriers that shape the implementation of the circular economy for polyurethane waste within a regional waste management system. Based on a qualitative research design grounded in critical realism, ten self-administered qualitative expert questionnaires were analysed, representing participants from public administration, research institutions, and private-sector organisations involved in waste management and related activities in Poland. Participants were recruited primarily through professional and institutional networks located in and around the GZM Metropolis. Thematic analysis identified fourteen themes organised across five analytical dimensions, indicating that institutional fragmentation, coordination challenges, and policy incoherence interact with technological, material, logistical, and market constraints in limiting the wider implementation of RPUF recycling. The findings conceptualise RPUF recycling as an emerging circular solution constrained by market uncertainty, fragmented coordination, established waste-management arrangements, and short-term project structures. governance-oriented framework comprising orchestration, market stabilisation, procurement and contract adaptation, and temporal anchoring. The framework highlights how these mutually reinforcing dimensions may support the transition from isolated recycling initiatives towards more integrated regional RPUF value chains. The results identify policy implications for territorially embedded circular-economy strategies that combine market formation, institutional adaptation, cross-sector coordination, and longer-term commitment.