2024/11/12 by Peter Dauvergne · 1 voice · 5 citations
Environmental Science · #Business #Corporate governance #Economics #Environmental governance #Environmental planning #Environmental science #Finance #Incrementalism #Law #Microplastics and Plastic Pollution #Municipal Solid Waste Management #Natural resource economics #Political science #Pollution #Recycling and Waste Management Techniques
paper · doi:10.1080/09644016.2024.2425262
published in Environmental Politics 34(6), 1091-1113 (Taylor & Francis)
openalex publication_date 2024/11/12 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/14
Tire wear and tear is among the largest sources of global microplastic pollution. Interviews conducted in 2024 appear to indicate ‘incremental progress’ toward improving governance of tire wear. Knowledge of the ecological and health consequences is increasing. Pressure is growing for greater producer responsibility. Global standards to limit tire abrasion are forming. Regulations are being implemented to address chemical contamination, such as in California. And some manufacturers are supporting higher standards and reengineering tires to undercut competitors and capture emerging markets for lower-abrasion tires. Yet, as a deeper analysis reveals, regulations remain highly uneven, piecemeal, and inadequate on a global scale, with new risk-taking as firms delay actions and introduce new chemicals as ‘solutions.’ Moreover, I argue, a ‘dangerous form of incrementalism’ is taking hold, where modest changes to state policy and corporate conduct are conferring legitimacy on governance processes unable to prevent tire wear pollution from escalating globally.