Circular Economy

A circular economy is a systematic approach to economic development designed to benefit businesses, society, and the environment. Unlike the linear "take-make-waste" model, a circular economy is restorative by design and aims to progressively decouple growth from the consumption of finite resources. After defining what a circular economy actually is, this learning path explores the nuances of the circular economy concept, including the difference between biological and technical materials, the different opportunities that exist for keeping materials and products in use, and the history of the idea.

Circular Economy

It is an economy that is restorative and regenerative by design. In a circular economy, economic activity builds and rebuilds overall system health. The concept recognizes the importance of the economy needing to work effectively at every scale for large and small businesses, organizations, and individuals globally and locally.

• It is based on three principles: • Designing out waste and pollution, • Keeping products and materials in use, • Regenerating natural systems.

Designing Out Waste and Pollution

What if waste and pollution were never created in the first place? A circular economy identifies and designs out the negative impacts of economic activity that harm human health and natural systems. This includes the emission of greenhouse gases and hazardous substances, air, soil and water pollution, and structural waste such as congestion. By designing these factors out rationally, it is possible to prevent much waste and pollution from occurring.

Regenerating Natural Systems

What if we could not only preserve but actively improve the environment? A circular economy avoids the use of non-renewable resources and preserves or enhances renewable resources. For example, by returning valuable nutrients to the soil to support regeneration, or by using renewable energy instead of relying on fossil fuels.

Keeping Products and Materials in Use

What if we could build an economy where we 'use' objects rather than 'consume' them? A circular economy favours activities that preserve value in the form of energy, labour, and materials. This means designing for durability, reuse, remanufacturing, and recycling to ensure that products, components, and materials remain circulating in the economy. Circular systems enable the efficient use of bio-based materials by encouraging many different uses as they cycle between economic and natural systems.

Access Over Ownership

Are we consuming products? Or are we using them? In a circular economy, biological materials are used, while technical materials can be thought of as consumables. It makes no sense to say we consume our washing machines and cars the same way we consume food. This is a subtle but important distinction in how we view our relationship with materials. It also raises questions about the necessity of owning products, as we have traditionally done. What is the benefit of owning a drill when you want to hang a picture on your wall and drill holes in it? What matters more than the product itself is access to the service that a product provides. Understanding this shift in mindset lays the ground for many of the practicalities of shifting our economy from linear to circular.

Economic Benefits

What are the macroeconomic impacts of transitioning to a new economic model? The circular economy is attracting the attention of both business and government leaders. Progressively decoupling economic growth from raw material inputs, it offers opportunities to drive innovation, boost growth, and create more robust employment. If we transition to a circular economy, the impact will be felt throughout society.

Environmental and System-Wide Benefits

What will be the impact on the environment of transitioning to a circular economy? The potential benefits of transitioning to a circular economy extend beyond the economy and into the natural environment. By designing out waste and pollution, keeping products and materials in use, and regenerating rather than depleting natural systems, the circular economy makes a powerful contribution to achieving global climate targets.

Opportunities for Companies

How will companies benefit from the circular economy? Businesses will gain significant benefits by transforming their operations in line with circular economy principles. These benefits include the creation of new profit opportunities, lower costs due to lower raw material requirements, and stronger relationships with customers.

Opportunities for Individuals

What does the circular economy mean for individuals? The circular economy will benefit not only businesses, the environment, and the economy, but also the individual. The benefits for individuals of a system based on circularity principles are significant, ranging from increased disposable income to improved living conditions and related health impacts.

Mass Balance

The transition from linear to circular requires systemic solutions. There is no simple fix, and no stone can be left unturned in the search for system change. Business models, product and service design, regulation, accounting practices, urban planning, farming practices, material extraction, production, and more currently have undesirable characteristics from a circular perspective. Yet we cannot change a single element of the current system and wait for the change we need. Achieving system change is difficult, and great ideas often fail to bear fruit due to failures in managing the related complexities. Nevertheless, what we need to do is learn to understand how complex systems—like the economy—work, because understanding is the first step to creating better solutions.

Implementing a circular economy for products and primary materials may appear complex but achievable. By contrast, recovering and isolating tens of thousands of compounds currently used as additives, paints, adhesives, etc. for recycling appears unachievable. Yet economically meaningful solutions exist. The chemical sector needs a new approach to fully unlock its circular economy potential.

This article explores how a mass balance methodology can provide a workable set of rules for ensuring the traceability of recycled raw materials in new products. The chemical industry uses a small set of raw materials to produce tens of thousands of products, many of which operate in "world-scale" facilities with very high efficiency. It is the backbone of the chemical industry with over 2.5 trillion dollars of investment worldwide. However, to date, the industry has been far less competent at taking back non-consumable products it produces after they are used and feeding them back into production. Current recycling rates for major chemical products are very low (for example, 9% for plastics globally) and there is an urgent need to find ways to return them to the production system to deliver a circular economy.

Because chemicals are often used in complex combinations, separate loops are only possible in some cases (for example, glass, metals, some plastics). Moreover, as products move through the economy, there will typically be additional mixing and contamination, which makes separating them practically and economically impossible, even if they are physically and chemically distinguishable.

Breaking down such substances into simpler chemicals for use as raw materials for new products may be the best option. Using chemical processes to bring mixed, diluted, or low-volume substances back into the value chain offers an opportunity, but also has inherent limitations. The opportunity with such "chemical recycling" technologies, unlike mechanical ones, is that they can produce virgin-grade raw materials. However, these operations need to be tied to existing chemical infrastructure in order not to be prohibitively costly from an investment perspective. For this reason, recycled raw material, along with all the materials that need to be mixed in the chemical production complex, will not be present in physically separate streams from other raw materials. This means it is not possible to physically track where a recycled feed stream ends up. Mass balance accounting is one of several well-known chain of custody approaches designed to track material flows across complex value chains. It is used in a number of established programs relating to sustainable and/or responsible sourcing, such as the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI). In principle, it is very well suited to addressing the challenges that chemical recycling faces when trying to track recycled raw material flows around chemical industry facilities. The mass balance approach provides a set of rules for how recycled content can be allocated to different products so that it can be claimed and marketed as "recycled" content.

For a chemical substance producer, recycled raw material is just another raw material entering the production system. Inside, it will be mixed with and converted into many other things, but the amount of recycled content exiting the production facility equals the amount entering (within the physical and chemical constraints of conversion efficiency and losses). For the mass balance approach to work and be widely applicable, it is very important that the basis of the calculation and allocation rules be generally applicable and robust.

Compounds have different values for chemical processing even if their atomic contents are identical, so mass balance calculation cannot be based solely on mass (except in some special cases). Instead, it is proposed to use properties related to chemical value, such as "lower heating value" (LHV) as a basis for calculation. A common set of allocation rules would provide a flexible and versatile market for a wide range of recycled raw materials, so for accounting to work well at a global level, allocation rules and usage guidelines need to be internationally accepted. A mass balance approach that makes it possible to sell certified recycled products at virgin quality could be of considerable value to all material and chemical users in the value chain. Demand for recycled materials from downstream customers is crucial to accelerating the development of chemically recycled materials. Additionally, increasing the share of recycled content in products is one of the most important ways for a business to transition to a circular economy approach.

It is very important for the end user to understand the claim of "recycled content," which highlights the importance of high-quality communication of the mass balance approach. It is particularly important to be clear about the difference between chemically (mass balance) recycled material and mechanically recycled material, and to show that chemical recycling is a complement to, not a replacement for, mechanical recycling.

To be able to make reliable claims and to be compared fairly with competitors and peers, a common, standardized protocol will be needed to pass recycled content through the value chain. Standardization of a mass balance approach for recycled chemicals can be achieved using an established methodology. A practical way forward might be to use a parallel consensus/non-consensus process to develop requirements and validate performance in real market practices while higher-level discussions on international standards are conducted. A mass balance approach with clear and pre-defined rules is seen as a key way to facilitate and encourage the use of recycled raw materials in the production of new products using a mass balance approach with pre-defined rules. One or more standards can be developed within the framework. A later important step in this process will be to increase the number of stakeholders working on developing standards to expand and align how they will be implemented in the market.

Sources and Images

•https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/explore/the-circulareconomy-in-detail •https://www.iscc-system.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/MassBalance-White-Paper.pdf "Enabling a circular economy for chemicals with the mass balance approach" by the members of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation network • https://pixabay.com/

Compilation and Translation: B. Serhat Cengiz