Circular Economy Weeks 3-5

CE integration challenges

-circularity requires integration across product life cycle -vertical integration by single company (when company takes care of whole supply chain) -production inefficiencies and associated higher costs -end of life management may not gain sufficient scale -barriers to entry by individual companies -close partnership among multiple companies: -collusion to limit participation -barriers to entry to existing partnerships -difficulties in creating partnerships across full life cycle -cartel-like pricing

components of a circular economy

1. eco-design 2. use of more biological materials 3. repair 4. refurbishment 5. remanufacture (refurbished by the original manufacturer) 6. reuse 7. product sharing 8. waste recycling, down-cycling, up-cycling 9. waste prevention numbers 3-7 retain the value of the products, components and materials at the highest level possible

product design/development

1. identify a need 2. create product concepts and specifications 3. evaluate technical economic feasibility 4. system level design- materials, components, etc. 5. detain design- making it manufacturable 6. prototype, testing and refinement 7. pilot manufacturing, engineering, optimization 8. full scale manufacturing

EPR benefits

1. potential to drive design change that improves material choices and end of life options 2. shifts disposal costs to organization responsible for making the product (brand/manufacturer) 3. reduces cost to municipalities of special handling of waste 4. increases consumer convenience/access to recycling 5. reduces illegal dumping often caused by disposal fee 6. sometimes consumers are financially incentivized to recycle 7. creates supply of reclaimed materials 8. builds a new product system that results in job creation

EPR influence on product systems

1. shifts focus from point of sale moment to entire product lifespan for companies 2. accountability for product affects design choices, packaging and transport 3. results in a system shift where waste is valued

challenges in implementing circular systems

1. technical 2. economic 3. behavioral 4. policy

government financial support: REMADE

a new sustainable manufacturing institute, led by the US Energy Department -focus on reducing cost of technologies needed to reuse, recycle, and remanufacture materials such as metals, fibers, polymers and e-waste -use up to $70 million in federal funding, subject to appropriations matched by $70 million in private cost-share commitments from over 100 partners

reservoir

a place where a material sits

source

a place where material comes from

extended producer responsibility (EPR)

a strategy designed to promote the integration of environmental costs associated with goods throughout their life cycles into the market price of the products -primary aim is to increase the amount and degree of product recovery and to minimize the environmental impact of waste -results in shifting these costs away from local governments and municipalities and puts costs on producers

circular economy

a system which aims to maintain the utility of products, components and materials and retain their economic value -links economic incentives and environmental movement

foundation of modern circular economy: prior sustainability concepts

Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature (Janine Benyus, 1997): defines a new science that studies nature's models and then imitates them to solve human problems Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution (1999): describes the global economy as being dependent on natural resources and ecosystem services that nature provides Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way we Make Things (2002): a manifesto for cradle to cradle design that gives specific details of how to achieve the model

Cradle to Cradle Design

Ecologically intelligent design that considers not only the useful life of the product but also the recovery, disposal, and reuse of the materials and components that make up the product C2C suggests that industry must protect and enrich ecosystems and nature's biological metabolism while also maintaining a safe, productive technical metabolism for the high-quality use and circulation of organic and technical nutrients

examples of EPR legislation results

European Commission: -developed "one waste directive" for all of members states, accomplished goal to have all member states recycle 25% of all packaging material

India vs. USA recycling rates

India annual plastic consumption: 13 kg/person -60% recycled -40% disposed (after use) USA annual plastic consumption: 109 kg/person -94% disposed (after use) -6% recycled

decoupling

ability of an economy to grow without corresponding increases in energy and resource use (source limits) and in environmental pressures (sink limits) a decoupled economy should not negatively affect soil fertility and biodiversity, not diminish resource stocks and not lead to increased toxicity of land, water and air

Apple Renew Program: Apple $ Credit

what happens to computers one they're returned? -test and assess equipment to determine if qualifies for reuse -qualifying equipment, tested in working condition, is sold in secondary electronic market as "used" -equipment that doesn't qualify for reuse recycled by Apple contracted Recycling Supplier in an environmentally responsible manner -iPhones carefully destroyed

challenges in pursuing profits and sustainability benefits

maximizing profits: -pursuing profits that minimize sustainability benefits -seeking "cheap" recycled materials -elevating recycled in hierarchy over durability -pursuing least cost strategies (technical nutrients over biological nutrients since difficult for biological nutrients to be cheaper than technical nutrients) -maximizing environmental and social benefits -long term stability of markets driven by benefit seeking -need for subsidies -what profit levels are sufficient

economic and policy challenges

-circularity is primarily policy driven rather than economic driven ex: paper recycling, lead acid battery cores, beverage bottles, paint, electronics ex of sectors with long term CE characteristics absent policy -metals recycling -major appliance repair

levels of circularity- biological nutrient cycles

-cascades -multiple input sources -virgin -pre-consumer recycled -post-consumer recycled -multiple processes -reuse without processing -processing to alter physical form -processing to alter chemical form -losses to system -energy recovery -residuals to landfill issues: -quality of material within cascades -infrastructure necessary to support cascades -costs of collection, processing, transportation -loss of embodied energy, water, other resources in composting -need for purity, healthy non-toxic characteristics

Socialization of Circular Economy: Ellen MacArthur Foundation

-2012 Ellen MacArthur Foundation's report "Towards the Circular Economy" -diagram on Circular Economy use by almost every individual talking about the subject - 2014 Ellen MacArthur Foundation at the World Economic Forum

EPR in practice

-EPR can include reuse, buy-back, recycling -the producer can hire a third party which is paid by the producer for used-product management -requires producers, importers and/or sellers to internalize waste management costs in their product prices and ensuring the safe handling of their products

regional materials cycle analyses

-all types of material flows increase over time as populations become more affluent -material cycles differ depending on spatial level -cities extract less, import more, use materials more efficiently than larger scale regions -on average, about 10 metric tons of materials per capital are added annually to domestic stocks in industrial countries

technical and economic feasibility

-can it be manufactured? -cost effectiveness and target market -product quality -time to market

challenges in creating loops

-closed and open loops present different issues -closed loop (material use back into same product) -system losses due to product loss, material loss, contamination -product and materials evolution -reliance on partners that may not have same interests -lack of regulatory drivers -open loop (material use into other products) -linked production chains -minor disruptions may have major ripple effects -volatility of price ratio between virgin and recovered material -potential mixing of multiple source materials with multiple qualities can limit uses

the new plastics economy

-creates an effective after-use plastics economy -drastically reduce the leakage of plastics into natural systems and other negative externalities -decouple plastics from fossil feedstocks

material flow analysis

-describe flows, stocks and reservoirs -has to have sufficient complexity (deep analysis) for decision making -quantitative assessment -manage resources, environment and wastes -monitor accumulation or depletion of stocks, future environmental loadings -allocation of material resources -material flow analysis in product design

system-level design

-design meets business meets production define: -materials and components -modularity -packaging -overall integration

design principles for products of consumption

-designs that fit expected lifetime -assess need for additional durability -repairability, reuse, refurbishment, remanufacture -designs that allow materials to be extracted for cascading uses (no toxics) -designs that allow easy composting or conversion of materials after last cascading use -designs that assess embodied energy, water, etc. to be net positive

natural sources of flows of materials

-erosion -airborne particulates -geologic changes (earthquakes, volcanic action) -forest fires -biological processes/microbial -chemical action and seawater

pilot manufacturing

-evaluate production line run -quality -optimization -design tweaks, production changes

virgin material extraction, farming, harvesting

-export from resource rich areas to labor and/or technology rich areas -wealth concentrated among few who control resources; poverty endemic in production areas -wealth increase among labor and technology rich areas, generally rising incomes from manufacturing

shifting business models (enabling factors for a circular economy)

-focus on offering product-service systems rather than product ownership -collaboration and transparency along supply chain -more business collaboration, trading waste streams

value of informal recycling

-formal recycling is more linear -informal recycling is more circular -people making a living off of recycling things (informal workforce) informal recycling diverts 4.7 million metric tons of plastic waste: -focus on high quality, high value plastics -residuals are not recycled -trading among Indian partners to concentrate plastics in Delhi -expertise concentrated in clusters -skills, knowledge, trading partners with focus on subset of plastics

what will it take to improve how we manage waste?

-government support: need federal EPR legislation with real accountability -financial incentives/funding: creation of market incentives for environmentally friendly products (more recyclable, less toxic) -increased internalization of disposal/recycling costs into products

recyling

-high quality recycling -maximize recycling -use of recycle materials as secondary raw materials -avoid mixing and contaminating materials

CE quality challenges

-homogeneous waste is higher quality than mixed waste -higher costs to collect homogeneous waste -contamination risk -behavioral change -quality standards are nearly non-existent -lack of voluntary or regulatory standards -legislation typically focused on weight rather than quality -few economic drivers for quality

identify a need

-inspiration -observe behavior -imitate and tweak -customer feedback

where should materials go?

-landfills as undifferentiated reservoir (everything goes in) -mixed materials -potential to "mine" landfills -concentration of materials with economic value -need to clean materials to market standards -cost of "mining" -dissipative (wasteful) use of materials used to produce energy is incineration of waste

EPR implementation

-legislated -voluntary

significance of delay time

-length of time material will be in use -gold in a phone -steel beam in skyscraper -point in time a material in a product becomes available for reuse -abandonment, but before disposal -discard in trash -discard to recycle stream -return to producer, seller -sale to recycler -quantity of "reusable resources" available after discard -identifiable -recoverable -separation from matrix

what makes the circular economy concept unique?

-linked to the economy -new economic model -virgin resource scarcity -new ways of thinking about resources -alternative business opportunities -economic value encourages individuals to take action and participate

CA EPR laws

-mattresses: California Used Mattress Recovery and Recycling Act to reduce illegal dumping, increase recycling, and substantially reduce public agency costs for the end of the use management of used mattresses NOT CONSIDERED EPR PROGRAMS IF REQUIRE LARGE EXPENDITURE OF PUBLIC RESOURCES

design principles for products of service

-maximize product and component durability -modular, repairable, upgradable -in sync with technology cycles -consistent with recycled material content use -use materials appropriate to functions, extended durability requirements and recyclability -materials that limit toxicity exposure -everything is repairable, replaceable -maintain purity of materials -allow easy disassembly for component and material substitution and recovery -assess life cycle impacts and improve on previous versions -fit leasing/shared ownership models

anthropogenic sources of flows of materials

-mining -combustion -water withdrawals -farming, forest, harvest, fishing -industrial activities -construction -personal activities

level of circularity-technical nutrients

-multiple levels -maintenance of use -product recovery and reuse -parts recovery and reuse -closed loop recycling back into parts -open loop recycling into other markets -recovery for chemical and metals recycling -losses in the system -energy recovery -residuals to landfill issues: -level of maintenance to prolong life -technology changes that improve efficiency -costs of collection, processing, transportation -introduction of new materials -trade offs between longevity and ease of recycling, toxics use, and management of parts and products

recovered, reused, recycled materials

-new jobs in collection processing, recycling, distribution of recovered materials -collection and maybe initial processing local -recovered materials likely end up in same places as virgin -potential for wealth loss in resource rich areas -potential for wealth increase around collection, processing infrastructure

technical nutrient

-nutrient is relatively easy to put into closed loop systems with little to no loss of quality -nutrient is suited to products of service

biological nutrient

-nutrient should be considered for products of consumption -the quality of this nutrient typically degrades faster during use -nutrient could be safely tossed onto soil and decompose

CE design challenges

-potential for conflicts among design goals -durability and ease of recycling -energy efficiency and durability -toxicity and functionality

producer responsibility: opportunity for innovation

-product design -material selection -take back system development -consumer engagement

linear economy

-product functions, aesthetics, and price points satisfy minimum requirements -materials follow product attributes -supply chain focus on direct vendor (Tier 1: supplier=where buy materials from) -marketing features and benefits -distribution mix to maximize revenues from initial sales -support focused on product use, warranty -minimal end of useful life focus

what do we want to know about reservoirs, sources and sinks?

-quantity in the reservoir -changes in the reservoir stock -changes in the source flow, sink flow which will result in a change in the reservoir stock most materials have multiple reservoirs requiring analysis of all flows and contents

governance, skills and information (enabling factors for a circular economy)

-raise awareness on changing lifestyles and consumption patterns -customer/citizen engagement -education -enable easy participation in solutions -encouragement to reevaluate what's necessary

environmental and health benefits of a circular economy

-reduce demand for natural resources -reduce material losses to landfills and incineration -reduction in overall energy flows due to more efficient use of resources -reduce emissions to the environment caused by extraction, processing of materials, incineration and landfill -increased safety through minimizing hazardous substances

alternative reservoirs

-segregation into material streams -recovery facilities -composting facilities -segregated storage facilities

full scale manufacturing

-source raw materials, packaging, etc. -quality systems (make as consistent as possible) -production plan -implementation

create product concepts

-start with basic elements -iterations -function, aesthetics, ease of use, etc.

economic incentives and finance (enabling factors for a circular economy)

-taxing natural resource use and pollution -phasing out subsidies that perpetuate environmentally harmful practices -internalization of environmental costs -systems to value waste: deposit systems -extended producer responsibility -finance mechanisms to support circular systems and infrastructure

flow

-transfers of materials, resources, products, wastes in and out of a system, product, or process intended use: -energy production -products -manufacturing auxiliaries (help) -recovery, recycle, disposal unintended use: -waste at origin site -waste at processing, manufacturing sights -dissipative use

hidden flows and products

-zinc used to galvanize pipes -zinc containing products lifetimes: -vehicle and appliances: 10- 15 years -buildings and infrastructure: 50-70 years -currently 80% of zinc reclaimed for recycling

eco-labels

a voluntary process for certifying that a product, service, material complies with a standard that results in environmental, social, community benefits over and above typical products in a category EU ecolabel initiative: -requirements for renewable, recycled, and sustainable raw materials -strict chemical requirements -requirements for reduced use of resources and energy -quality requirements and lifetime -requirements for product design, dismantling and repairability -requirements for optimum wastes and resource handling -organic label -build healthy soil, eliminate synthetic chemicals in production, integrate compost -FSC -managing forest resources for long-term productivity and habitat value, label for recycled forest origin materials -cradle to cradle -label with most criteria relevant to CE

quality system

focus on consistency (happens on design end)

eco-design

bio-based innovations: -natural rubber -lignin and cellulose based polymers (hemp) -plant oil based polymers (palm oil, castor oil, canola oil) some are biodegradable some are not (bio-based vs. biodegradable) bio-based have lower energy profiles -products designed for durability (long term use) with repair, refurbishment, reuse, upgrading in mind -design based on sustainable and minimal use of resources and substitution of hazardous materials -design with end of life in mind in order to enable high quality recycling of material -eco-innovation: new materials and technologies, new ways of making products, new ways of having products made

biological nutrient challenges

biological nutrients and land conversion: -substituting crop for fossil fuels -land conversion, habitat loss -potential trade-offs -food security -erosion -nitrogen cycle ex: natural rubber -increasing conversion of land from tropical forest to rubber plantations how do you create a cascade and return product to the biological system?

relative decoupling

buys time, i.e. give the economy some extra time before it runs into resource constraints and/or excess pollution

economic benefits of a circular economy

consumers: -new markets/jobs -provide work for all skill levels -economic savings/rewards from needing to replace less frequently and potential to earn money from products no longer in use -broadens consumers options on how to take care of their things -potential to result in more durable good that can last longer -increases access to repair -enables consumers to reduce what they throw away business: -waste gains economic value -customer retention -new stream of inputs (potentially lower costs)

thinking differently-circular economy

consumption or service? -material palettes for consumption and for service consumption: use it up and becomes waste -food, fuel, shampoo, medication, packaging, clothes -biological nutrient -functions, performances, aesthetics, price points -recycled and virgin inputs -use time extension -recycle vs. compost -distribution -sales preferred over leases -end of useful life -recovery of product/materials responsibility at local government level? -system characteristics -farm to ingredient/raw material -products ready for either recycling or composting -infrastructure for collection and reverse distribution -recycled and compost markets service: lasts longer and more durable -appliances, furniture, vehicles, buildings, machinery -technical nutrient -functions, performance, aesthetics, price points -use time extension -recycle systems -distribution -leasing preferred over sales -shared ownership -end of useful life -recovery of products/materials responsibility at company /industrial level -system characteristics -mine/well to raw materials -integration with recycled /recovered materials -infrastructure to recover, reuse, repair -markets for reuse, repair, recycle

economic challenges

economic driven characteristics: -higher cost/value items (cars, buildings, major appliances) -materials where recycled versions are same as virgin in critical attributes and use existing supply chain infrastructure (metals and mineral recycling) -materials and components that require minimal processing and use existing supply chain infrastructure (paper and glass recycling)

EPR Regulation example: batteries

legislation: -banned consumers from disposing batteries in house trash (not enforceable) -required product labeling -mandated reporting of recovery rates and sold rates results: -manufacturers complied due to fear of federal mandates -no federal pressure resulted in weakened goals and not meeting goals -next attempts included retailers and point of sale collection

repair, refurbishment and remanufacture

requires infrastructure and ability to repair, refurbish and remanufacture

reservoirs and residence time

natural reservoirs: atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere anthropogenic reservoir: products, buildings, warehouses, factories, landfills how long a material stays in a reservoir is a function of the average residence time (the average time a given particle will stay in a given system)

absolute decoupling

once the economy comes close to a boundary, absolute decoupling will be a requirement so as to enable to the economy to continue to develop sustainably

sink

place where materials go to

policy challenges

policy driven characteristics: -consistent material quality, single distribution channel, limited economic value (car battery: lead is the same for every battery) -high hazard, diffuse distribution, limited recycling infrastructure, consumer storage (electronics, refrigerators, paint) regulatory constraints: -food contact -FDA concerns on contaminants

monstrous hybrid

product, component, or material that combines both technical and biological nutrients in a way that cannot be easily separated, rendering it unable to be recycled or reused by either system ex: Starbucks cup with lining that can't be recycled

prototype and testing

product: -assembly strategies, issues -durability -functionality -user interface packaging and ancillary issues: -packaging design -product information -maintenance and support

Downcycling

recycling into products of lesser quality and functionality in an effort to prevent the waste of useful materials and benefit the environment ex: denim into insulation

social and behavioral challenges

social structures that dis-incentivize circularity -culture of ownership -fashion -preferences for new rather than old, novel rather than existing -policies that prefer new products/virgin materials -urban/suburban forms that are low density -cultural values regarding things as measures of socio-economic status -expectations around profit levels, stock prices

detail design

specify designs for all components and integration into product

stock

the amount of stuff

quality control

the processes an organization uses to maintain its established quality standards (checked after fully produced)

Upcycling

transforming by-products, waste materials, useless or unwanted products into new materials or products of higher quality or better environmental value ex: water bottle --> fleece jacket

flow resources

water: -the water cycle -displacement from geographic locale -contamination energy: -nonrenewable -renewable -transmission -embodied energy value -"energy" in plastic since it is made from fossil fuels