From a stone quarry to a rubble recycler. The trajectory of a productive model in change at a time of ecological transition

In the face of the recurring manifestations of a profound ecological crisis, the productive models of the circular economy are presented today as an alternative to the linear economy model (which sees waste arise from unlimited growth and consumption, particularly in urban areas where both are continuously increasing). We argue that, despite the growing perception of a climate crisis, natural resource extraction remains a central driver of contemporary capitalism and urban development. To evidence this, we draw on a case study of an extractive industry strongly shaped by the linear economy model: stone quarrying. We focus on the trajectory of a mid-sized company in the Bouches-du-Rhône département of France that was historically established as a stone quarry, but is currently transitioning its production model towards economic circularity. How has this company transformed its production model, and particularly the organization of its production, commercialization, and financing? Does the ongoing transition in its production model reflect a new compromise, recognizing the contemporary imperatives of greening, democratizing, and territorializing industrial projects? What local and structural constraints or opportunities, and what forms of interdependencies, have driven a small stone quarry to become one of the cornerstones of the rubble circular economy in the Bouches-du-Rhône?