Assessing the potential of plastic waste management in the circular economy: a longitudinal case study in an emerging economy

Plastic waste management represents a fundamental challenge in terms of environmental pollution and health in many emerging countries. Yet, some firms believe improved plastic waste management could lead to value creation and capture, especially from a circular economy perspective. This study draws on a longitudinal research approach that involved 12 organizations in assessing plastic waste management’s contribution to Cameroon’s circular economy. Our findings suggest that plastic waste management for value creation is still embryonic in Cameroon. Moving to the full value creation and capture stage will require overcoming various challenges identified and presented in the paper. We then discuss our findings and put forward several future research avenues. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10479-023-05386-3.