Circular Economy and Digitalization for new perspective in Waste Management Sector

In response to sustainability challenges for reducing the negative environmental impact, the European Union has promoted the Twin Transition (TwT) to support the shift toward a more sustainable production and consumption system. TwT integrates digital and green transformations, playing a fundamental role in enabling the Circular Economy (CE), particularly through digital technologies functions such as tracking and monitoring. Although the growing interest, the research on TwT presents a limited focus on its intellectual structure and practical applications. To address this gap, this study adopts different analysis approaches focusing on the companies' TwT realization. A bibliometric analysis maps the evolution of TwT research, identifying leading authors, publications, sources and countries, outlining the thematic evolution and future research directions. Then, the research investigates the traceability of special waste in the Italian context, as a relevant and underexplored system that realizes TwT. Using Participatory Action Research, the study engages waste sector operators to analyze the current traceability system, identify limits (such as limited system integration, reliance on paper documentation, and partial traceability), and propose digital solutions, such as blockchain technology, to improve this system. Lastly, the study explores how TwT could be realized by examining the circular business model (CBM) of a company specializing in medical and industrial waste management. The case highlights how sustainability and circular practices, integrated by innovation, enable both environmental and economic value creation from waste. Together, these insights contribute to a better understanding of TwT implementation in the waste sector through the traceability process and the circular business model adaptation, offering practical and theoretical implications for firms, policymakers, and researchers.