what is a circular economy?

what is circularity?

The rise in mindless consumption, the production environmentally persistent man-made materials, the blanket adoption of short-lived, single-use products, and continuing short-sighted waste management practices has resulted in deep environmental, social, and economic problems that are felt globally.

These are the visible symptoms of a flawed linear economy rooted in making, taking, and wasting. We are surviving temporarily in a system that alienates us from the rest of the ecosystem on which we depend, all the while we could be thriving, symbiotically, alongside all living things, in a circular world.

A circular economy thrives on three principles: keeping products and materials in use, designing out waste and pollution, and regenerating natural systems. Learn more from the global thought leader on the circular economy, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

Environmental economics presents the efficacy of corrective tools to mitigate the negative externalities inherent to a largely unchecked capitalistic linear economy. Circular economics demands a rethinking and reimagining of the entire system such that negative externalities are prevented entirely.

The tools to achieve a circular world are a common understanding, systems thinking approach, proven policy levers, unwavering commitment, inter-industry collaboration, and accurate measurement tools. Products, businesses, cities, food systems, supply chains, and entire industrial ecosystems can work towards their own circularity and learn from one another along the way.

mapping the circularity of our recycling system

To shed light on the shortcomings of the current linear system, it's a useful practice to map out a given product's life cycle and identify the waste, leakages, and inefficiences along the way. The following narrative generally describes the common stages and life span of a consumer product or packaged good in the US.

CAPTURE RATES

While it should not be the primary tool, recycling is an essential cog within the gears of a circular economy. If the recycling structure is functioning efficiently and locally, it is a viable option for many readily recyclable consumer goods.

Unfortunately, the current recycling rate in the US has stagnated at 34% for over a decade. This is indicative of many things including the lack of integration of recycling as a social norm, low environmental literacy, disparate community access and program design, and infrastructure issues.

The first break the circularity of the recycling system results from low capture rates of recyclable goods.

CONTAMINATION

Certain materials and products and are not economically or materially viable in mechanical recycling systems due to their material composition, physical characteristics, low economic value, high processing costs, or because the specific recycling infrastructure does not exist in the given community. The lack of universal education, consumer misinformation, inconsistent labeling, hybrid materials, and the ever-evolving ton contribute to high levels of contamination in the recycling stream.

The second break in this system's circularity is the entrance of contaminants into the recycling system.

Nonrecyclable and difficult to recycle goods do not have a place within the circular economy. The question must evolve from "Can this be recycled?" to "Should this be recycled?" In certain instances, the existence of recycling programs can unintentionally perpetuate consumer belief that a given product is not environmentally detrimental and that it is in fact economical to recycle. This in turn is connected to increased consumption of environmentally nondesireable goods.

COLLECTION

The third break in the circularity of the recycling system relates to wasted energy, often called leakage. Measuring the holistic carbon footprint of community recycling systems must become a standard practice. Collection inefficiencies specific to container size, route density, overlapping service areas, and method of transport are must be reviewed. The carbon footprint of switching to 96-gallon carts collected in dual-collection trucks is much smaller than a program that runs weekly collection of 18-gallon bins in designated recycling trucks. Furthermore, the circular economy is exigent that all energy sources be clean and renewable. Recycling fleets should be biobased, electric, or run on natural gas from the landfill.

TRANSPORTATION & LOGISTICS

After intial collection in the community, recyclables can make a pitstop at a transfer station - like a layover at an airport, head to a public or private recycling center for minimal sorting and consolidation, or be transported directly to a large materials recovery facility (MRF) where they are physically sorted and prepared for shipping to secondary processors. The carbon footprint extends beyond the initial collection program to the overall flow of recyclables across collection, consolidation, sorting and processing hubs. When recyclables are consolidated at a central hub, shipped directly to vendors, and use local MRFs there is less leakage in the system. Unfortunately, not all programs maintain a central hub or are competitively located so products are shipped over state and even country lines. The fourth break in this system is related to whether the overall regional material flow is efficient and localized or expansive and carbon intensive.

PROCESSING

After leaving the MRF, recyclable materials are shipped to secondary processors. For example, PET bottle bales will be shipped to a plastic recycling facility where they will sort, grind, wash, melt, add dyes and stabilizers, extrude, cool in water, and cut it into pellets. If it sounds like a long process, it is. The circle is broken again in this secondary processing stage as energy is lost and waste created from processing practices. There may be areas in the metaphorical assembly line that can be improved to prevent waste such as off-spec material, by-products, and dunnage. Processing facilities can also produce waste water, hazardous chemicals, or packaging waste.

DOWNCYCLING & DISPOSAL

In most cases, recycled means downcycled because in the transformational process, the product's material value and future recyclability is degraded. For example, the PET pellets discussed above are likely shipped to a carpet manufacturer who remelts them into fibers to weave into carpet threads. In 20 years, when the carpet is worn out and torn out, it will be landfilled or incinerated. Residual value will come from the energy provided upon incineration or if the landfill has methane gas recapture systems. However, in both scenarios, the expensive embodied energy and economic value is lost. The circle is broken a final time.

PRODUCT CONCEPTION & DESIGN

The very first break in the circle actually occurs when circular theory is not brought to the very forefront of every product conception conversation. The brand manufacturer's biggest tool to usher in the circular economy is product design. They can select rapidly renewable materials and bioplastics over fossil fuel based virgin materials. They can decouple technical and biological materials. They can design for modularity and ease of dissassembly or refurbishing. They can enhance the a product's longevity and quality by offering repair or recommerce programs. They plan for product recapture at it's end of life by implementing take-back or deposit programs and partnering with secondary resellers. They can actively embrace dematerialization and the shared economy so their physical product is virtualized or rented instead of purchased and used for a fraction of its useful life.

As is evident, an ostensibly sustainable, well-intentioned system can be plagued with pollution and waste simply because it exists within a linear economy. A product or practice might seem sustainable in a vaccuum but not when properly placed in the context of our greater ecosystem. The good news is, there are a growing number of professional pioneers who are at the ready to usher in the global transition to a circular economy and help your organization or business's practices, processes, or products become more circular.