Territorial governance and regional circular economy transitions: stakeholder perspectives from a regional glass waste system in Victoria, Australia

Regional circular economy policy increasingly expects local governments to translate waste targets into practical systems for material recovery, reuse and community participation. This article examines a regional glass waste system in western Victoria, Australia, to analyze how stakeholders understand the conditions required for glass circularity. Drawing on sixteen semi-structured interviews with local government, state government, recycling industry and academic participants, the study develops a territorial alignment framework comprising five dimensions: material flow, infrastructure, market, institutional and social alignment. Findings show that glass circularity was viewed as promising but conditional. Stakeholders identified opportunities for landfill diversion, resource conservation, local value creation and public trust, but also highlighted contamination, low volumes, transport costs, weak markets and fragmented governance. The article argues that technically recyclable materials do not automatically become circular regional resources. Regional glass circularity becomes plausible only when material, infrastructure, market, institutional and community conditions are territorially aligned.