Green Fintech Strategies for Circular Plastic-Recycling Supply Chains in an Emerging Economy

Bangladesh recycles only about 31% of its roughly 977,000 tons of annual plastic waste through formal channels, and recyclers face limited working capital and weak traceability of recovered materials. This study examines whether green fintech adoption strategies (GFASs), measured as a higher-order capability and adoption-readiness construct (reported use, readiness, perceived usefulness and acceptance), are associated with circular plastic-recycling supply chain performance (CPRSCP) and whether supply chain digital transparency (SCDT) mediates this association. We hypothesize that GFAS is positively associated with SCDT (H1), SCDT with CPRSCP (H2), and GFAS with CPRSCP directly (H3), and that SCDT mediates the GFAS–CPRSCP association (H4). Cross-sectional survey data from 472 respondents in recycling and fintech-integrated organizations in Bangladesh’s three main plastic-recycling clusters were analyzed using covariance-based structural equation modeling. GFAS was positively associated with SCDT (β = 0.59; p < 0.001), and GFAS was also directly associated with CPRSCP (β = 0.17; p = 0.026). The indirect association via SCDT was significant (standardized β = 0.30; unstandardized B = 0.306; 95% BC bootstrap CI: [0.202, 0.452]), consistent with partial mediation. Because the data are cross-sectional and self-reported, the findings are interpreted as associations, not causal effects. This study extends dynamic capabilities theory by positioning digital transparency as a proposed link between fintech capabilities and circular supply chain outcomes and offers policy suggestions for digitally enabled plastic circularity.