Circular Material Flows, the Twin Transition of Manufacturing, and the Future of Labour: Insights from a Case Study of the Peniche Ocean Watch Initiative

Book chapter, 2025

The Future of Labour: How AI, Technological Disruption and Practice Will Change the Way We Work is an anthology that offers a forward- looking exploration of how artificial intelligence (AI), digitalisation and technological transformation are reshaping the future of work. Through a series of studies conducted by scientists and industry professionals, this volume takes a deep dive into many of the issues related to new policies, AI and the digital transformation’s anticipated impact on the labour market. Balancing speculative foresight with scientific rigour, the authors ground their discussions in empirical data, theoretical frameworks and comprehensive literature studies.

The book delves into the evolving labour landscape through three key themes:
1 The Future of Society and Economy – Examining the socio- economic implications of emerging technologies and their transformative impact on work.
2 The Future Way of Working – Investigating how AI and digital tools are redefining the nature of work and workplace conditions.
3 New Uses of AI and Technology in Labour – Highlighting innovative applications of AI and technology that are reshaping job roles and industries.

Each chapter provides unique insights, blending rigorous analysis with predictive insights, to illuminate the challenges and opportunities of a rapidly technologically advancing labour landscape.

In this chapter, we focus on the “twin transition” of manufacturing and the future of labour within the context of the circular economy and ocean plastics. Our point of departure is the sustainability challenges associated with ocean plastics, the fishing industry, and local coastal communities, and we first describe the existing challenges before presenting issues related to sustainability and circularity. We then discuss the related future opportunities for the labour market given that we are beginning to see the re-imagining and re-routing of material from linear to circular flows. We illustrate this through presenting the “microfactory” concept first developed under the Peniche Ocean Watch Initiative in Portugal, where the re-routing and re-purposing of discarded fishing nets is done on-site, in the local context, to be later re-imagined into new forms of use, in this case, recyclable furniture produced through large-scale additive manufacturing. We then return to our overarching discussion – how a turn to nature might also be a turn for the future of labour, and conclude by pinpointing how this turn offers an alternative way forward – one that by staying close to nature is inclusive, sustainable, and circular.