Recycling of coal fly ash as an example of an efficient circular economy: A stakeholder approach

The scale of waste formation from coal-fired generation is significant and tends to grow steadily in the context of the global use of coal for power production. This paper covers the problems and current opportunities for recycling coal fly ash waste from coal generation from the position of a stakeholder approach, namely, identification of the main participants and determination of the effects for economic agents in coal fly ash recycling projects. Based on the method of economic modeling and the empirical assessment of project efficiency, this paper presents alternative patterns of stakeholder interaction in the process of implementing coal fly ash recycling projects, estimates the effects of using coal fly ash, and identifies conflicting interests between stakeholders. It is shown that the reason behind the low interest of the Russian private sector in the processing of coal fly ash is the lack of stimulating market mechanisms for manufacturers and consumers of ash products, the high risks of implementing recycling projects based on clean coal technologies, and low environmental payments for commercial companies.