Sep 16 2024
The linear nature of the world economy has led to a growing and pervasive problem: rapidly accumulating levels of global waste. Addressing this increasing problem is a significant challenge, and given the environmental damage caused by industrial activities, a new approach is urgently needed.
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In the 21st century, sustainability has become a key focus for multiple governments and many companies as the evidence for humanity’s impact on the natural world has become increasingly overwhelming. Circular economic strategies have become intense subjects of interest, with the 3Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle) at the heart of the current discussion.
This article will explore current strategies for reducing, reusing, and recycling the vast amount of commercial and industrial products manufactured globally. It will discuss innovative waste reduction strategies, the benefits and challenges of recycling, the circular economy concept, and future opportunities in this area.
Reducing Waste Through Innovation
The scale of waste produced globally per year is staggering. For example, in 2023 approximately 430 million tons of plastic was produced1, with much of it destined for single use items such as soda bottles which are thrown away after use, ending up in landfills or in the oceans where it can cause damage to fragile ecosystems. Electronic waste is another pressing global issue.
Waste can come from a variety of sources, such as transportation waste, processing waste, overproduction, and excess inventory. This can lead to wasted resources such as water and energy. However, strategies such as sustainable material selection, minimizing packaging waste, and managing inventory efficiently can reduce the impact of waste.2
In today’s environmentally conscious atmosphere, the benefits to companies are obvious: reducing waste improves their ecological impact, consumer confidence, and costs.
AB InBev is one example of a multinational company leading the way in waste reduction. The company aims to have 100% recyclable packaging by 2025, replacing single-use plastic (one of the most environmentally harmful commercial products) with glass bottles.3
Another company, gCycle, has introduced the world’s first fully biodegradable diaper.4
Other developments include Winnow, a UK-based startup that has developed a smart meter that can analyze the amount and type of food waste in commercial kitchens. Winners of the Circular Economy Tech Disruptor Award, Winnow have helped to cut food waste in half in 40 nations. Many companies have provided innovative technological waste solutions or are actively working toward reducing the amount of waste they produce.
Reusing Materials in the Circular Economy
The global population is rapidly approaching 9 billion, which has raised the question of how sustainable human society can continue to be in several quarters. As mentioned previously, the concept of the circular economy has gained traction as experts realize that the current, highly wasteful linear economy model is not working.
In a circular economy, products are recovered and repurposed once they reach the end of their useable life to be turned into value-added commercial products, ensuring that precious materials are not lost and end up in the environment. One example is reusing construction waste to build new structures rather than using traditional concrete, which can increase carbon emissions and use virgin resources such as sand.
In Australia, Close the Loop is reusing soft plastics and old printer cartridges to create roads by mixing recovered materials with recycled glass and asphalt to create a durable road surfacing material. Enerkem is extracting hard-to-recycle carbon from domestic and commercial trash for use in biofuels for transportation.3
Several global agencies and companies are working toward a more circular model concerning e-waste (electronic waste), a pervasive and growing contributor to the global waste problem. However, according to the World Economic Forum, only around 20% of global electronic waste is currently recycled and reused, which is a major challenge for the industry.5
Recycling: Advantages and Challenges
While noteworthy progress has been made in recent years, the amount of waste recycled worldwide each year is falling significantly short of internationally agreed targets. Most waste still ends up in landfills or is disposed of through methods such as incineration or simply ends up in the environment, where it causes damage to fragile ecosystems and vulnerable human populations.
Currently, there are several key trends and developments within the recycling sector. Artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms are being utilized to improve plant sorting efficiency, precision, and performance. Smart recycling bins with RFID chips and sensors can provide real-time data to improve waste management.6
Chemical recycling is an emerging technique that offers benefits over conventional methods that physically break down materials such as plastics, allowing previously unrecyclable materials to be recovered and reused. Blockchain technologies are increasingly transforming supply chain transparency and accountability.6
However, several persistent challenges impede the recycling of many commercial products. Some materials are not recyclable with current technologies, workers can be exposed to physical and chemical dangers, there is a low market demand for recycled products, a lack of education and adverse consumer behavior exists, and recycling can be extremely expensive.7
Despite the challenges, technological innovation and a growing public awareness of the benefits of recycling and the circular economy have positively affected the industry. Organics recycling infrastructure is expanding, and investments in carbon capture and storage technologies are increasing. Several legal frameworks and regulations, such as right-to-recycle and efforts by the EPA in the US, are having an impact.8
Economic pressures and the lingering effect of the COVID-19 pandemic mean that the road toward full recycling is bumpy: a slight downward trend in UK recycling rates (which stood at 43.3% in 2022/23) is evidence of the sector's challenges. However, major world economies still aim to meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals as best they can.
Commercial Benefits and Market Opportunities
As mentioned, reducing, reusing, and recycling has several key benefits. Firstly, it reduces the amount of waste entering the environment. Secondly, it can provide commercial benefits such as cost reduction and attracting increasingly environmentally conscious consumers.
Growth is predicted to be stimulated by a number of key factors in the coming years: increasing urbanization, expansion of e-waste recycling, increasing demand for recycled products, government schemes such as right-to recycle and financial incentives for reduction and recycling, and the accelerating adoption of circular practices in the wider industry.
Whilst highly challenging, the commercial benefits and market opportunities associated with a circular economy approach to product manufacture and waste management are significant and far-reaching.
In Summary
This article has explored the growing conversation around reducing, reusing, and recycling products and making the circular economy a reality. Despite several structural and technical challenges associated with this endeavor, the outlook is promising.
Climate change and the impact of the modern industrialized economy on the natural world has focused the attention of numerous stakeholders on sustainability and the green economy. It is increasingly becoming clearer that, to mitigate the worst damage to the environment, innovative technologies and bold strategies will be necessary in the coming decades.
References and Further Reading
- Jaganmohan, M (2024) Global plastics industry – statistics and facts [online] Statista. Available at: https://www.statista.com/topics/5266/plastics-industry/#topicOverview (Accessed on 21 June 2024)
- Wastebits (2024) The Path to Zero Waste: Waste Minimization Techniques for Manufacturers [online] wastebits.com. Available at: https://blog.wastebits.com/cleanup-and-remediation/waste-minimization-manufacturing/# (Accessed on 21 June 2024)
- Thornton, A (2019) These 11 companies are leading the way to a circular economy [online] World Economic Forum. Available at: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/02/companies-leading-way-to-circular-economy/ (Accessed on 21 June 2024)
- Watine, P (2021) 8 inspiring innovations that are helping to fight plastic pollution [online] World Economic Forum. Available at: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/12/fight-plastic-pollution-innovations/ (Accessed on 21 June 2024)
- Wood, J (2024) 7 ways to boost e-waste recycling – and why it matters [online] World Economic Forum. Available at: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2024/04/e-waste-recycling-electronics-appliances/ (Accessed on 21 June 2024)
- Silent Bio (2024) The Future of Recycling: 2024 Trends and Innovations [online] Available at: https://silentbio.com/the-future-of-recycling-2024-trends-and-innovations/ (Accessed on 21 June 2024)
- Hunn, K (2022) Challenges in recycling [online] University of Colorado Boulder. Available at: https://www.colorado.edu/ecenter/2022/02/04/challenges-recycling (Accessed on 21 June 2024)
- Wallace, J., Quinn, M & Rosengren, C (2024) 5 waste and recycling trends to watch in 2024 [online] Wastedrive. Available at: https://www.wastedive.com/news/5-waste-recycling-trends-2024/703848/ (Accessed on 21 June 2024)