Career
After earning her master’s degree in environmental engineering at ETH Zurich, Melanie Haupt remained at the Chair of Ecological System Design and earned her doctorate on the topic of “Ecological Optimization of Municipal Waste Management.” Following her doctorate, she spent another four years conducting research in the field of sustainable circular economy. At the same time, she began working in the private sector at REDILO, where she focused on implementing these concepts in the packaging industry in Switzerland. Since 2023, Dr. Melanie Haupt has been the owner and CEO of realcycle. She also serves as a lecturer in waste and circular economy as well as recycling technologies at ETH Zurich.
Key Publications
Blum, N. U., Haupt, M., & Bening, C. R. (2020). Why “Circular” doesn always mean “Sustainable.” Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 162, 105042. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.105042
Haupt, M., & Hellweg, S. (2019). Measuring the environmental sustainability of a circular economy. Environmental and Sustainability Indicators, 1–2, 100005. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indic.2019.100005
Haupt, M., Kägi, T., & Hellweg, S. (2018b). Modular life cycle assessment of municipal solid waste management. Waste Management. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2018.03.035
Haupt, M., Vadenbo, C., & Hellweg, S. (2017). Do We Have the Right Performance Indicators for the Circular Economy?: Insight into the Swiss Waste Management System. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 21(3), 615–627. https://doi.org/10.1111/jiec.12506
Haupt, M., Vadenbo, C., Zeltner, C., & Hellweg, S. (2017). Influence of Input-Scrap Quality on the Environmental Impact of Secondary Steel Production. Journal of Industrial Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1111/jiec.12439
Klotz, M., & Haupt, M. (2022). A high-resolution dataset on the plastic material flows in Switzerland. Data in Brief, 41, 108001. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.DIB.2022.108001
Klotz, M., Haupt, M., & Hellweg, S. (2022a). Limited utilization options for secondary plastics may restrict their circularity. Waste Management, 141, 251–270. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.WASMAN.2022.01.002
Klotz, M., Haupt, M., & Hellweg, S. (2023). Potentials and limits of mechanical plastic recycling. https://doi.org/10.1111/jiec.13393
An overview of all scientific articles by Dr. Melanie Haupt
Core competencies
- Stakeholder Management
- Moderation
- Project Development, System Analysis, and System Design
- Training Sessions and Workshops
- Waste Management, Municipal Waste
- Plastics
- Packaging
- Recyclability
- Value Chains
- Circular economy strategies
Mandates
- Advisory board member at the Institute for Environment and Natural Resources
- Member of the Board of Trustees, Pusch Foundation
- Expert commission «Quality assurance plastics recycling» VSPR
Further education
- Media training