From Circular Economy to Circular Ecology: A Review on the Solution of Environmental Problems through Circular Waste Management Approaches (original) (raw)

Applying the Concept of Circular Economy to Integrated Waste Management. Case Study

SIMI 2016, 2016

Circular economy should define the new model for a sustainable environment and sustainable resource utilization. The traditional linear economy no longer supports the demands of an increasing population for new and better products. Reckless consumption threatens the viability of the current "take-make-dispose" model, and a shift in the mentality of both companies and customers is required, supported also by institutional and policy measures. Consumers will shift to users and producers and sellers will become service providers. Long term benefits and opportunities of circular economy outweigh short term costs and threats, and all stakeholders should keep in mind that beyond fulfilling the needs for material consumption, there is a responsibility towards the environment. Design and innovation will play a key role for the transition to circular economy, and waste will no longer be considered as such, but as a valuable resource, while the emphasis will be on reuse, repair, reconditioning and recycling. This paper assesses the potential of applying the concept of circular economy to integrated waste management, by analysing the available statistical data for Romania and European Union regarding waste management. The main improvement measures to apply are the implementation of a collection and sorting system partly funded through extended producer responsibility schemes, charging for waste generation, encouraging recycling, and transforming waste into energy instead of storing it in landfills. As the results show, a slight increase has been recorded for recycling rates in Romania and EU. However, there is place for improvement, and circular economy could represent the solution.

Circular Economy and Sustainable Waste Management

Paper, 2024

This research explores the challenges and opportunities of implementing a Circular Economy (CE) for Sustainable Waste Management (SWM) in Pakistan, with a particular focus on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). Although developed countries have transitioned towards CE, developing nations like Pakistan face technological, human resource, institutional, and financial limitations. Current waste management policies in Pakistan focus primarily on hazardous waste disposal, neglecting broader CE principles such as resource recovery, recycling, and reuse. The study critically examines the legal frameworks, such as the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act, 1997, and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Climate Policy 2022, revealing gaps in policy enforcement and regulatory capacity. Through a thorough analysis, the paper presents policy and implementation-level recommendations, including regulatory amendments, incentives for industries, and capacity building. The findings underscore the importance of public-private partnerships (PPP), integration of the informal waste sector, and technological upgrades in modern recycling facilities.

Circular economy: transforming solid-wastes to useful products

Rapid urbanization and the demanding nature of urbanized culture has irrevocably exhausted our finitely available natural resources throughout the world [1]. Unsustainable urbanized cities are getting overwhelmed by witnessing a rapid surge in demand for natural resources because of improved income of its citizens [2]. Circular economy is an ideal model for modernized world which is presently struggling with meeting sustainable development goals and will help in formulating policies with high environmental relevance [3]. Reinvent- ing supply chains by improvising the current unsustainable modes of production/consump- tion and city wastes management practices seems to a promising sustainable alternative to counter feedstock crisis. A continued cycle of resource optimization, value preservation, and sustainable waste elimination is termed as a circular economy (a cycle of product produc- tion, its consumption, waste recovery, waste management, and secondary raw materials retrieval).This economy involves circular supply chain to recover the maximal value out of materials (including added value to produced waste), thereby turning residual outputs of one process into resource for another process [4]. Moreover, the integrity of this economy also lies in extending the overall life of a product with the assistance of novel technological breakthroughs, refining the product usage rate by encouraging its shared use [5]. Opting for innovative circular economy model over the linear model might denote to transform the existing thinking/habitual patterns ingrained in vast populations (including citizens, leaders, and policymakers) globally to make thoughtful decisions about resource consump- tion/disposal.

Circularity in the Management of Municipal Solid Waste – A Systematic Review

Environmental and Climate Technologies

Municipal solid waste (MSW) management has emerged as one of the major environmental challenges globally. The consequences of inappropriate waste management are manifold and the trend would continue if immediate interventions are not taken for its reversion amid rapid urbanization and current consumption patterns of individuals. The concept of circular economy (CE) can contribute to a paradigm shift in the transformation of the traditional linear approach that does not favour reuse, recycle, recovery concept. Modern and proven waste management practices with collection systems, recycling facilities, sanitary landfills, and waste-to-energy (WtE) and nutrient recovery offer opportunities to improve urban environment through the valorization of waste and by-products in a CE. This study scrutinizes the existing literature on the assessment of circularity and helps to develop a unified circularity framework in the management of MSW in cities. Key aspects such as tools for measuring circu...

Recognising waste use potential to achieve a circular economy

Waste Management, 2020

Waste management historically focused on the protection of human health and the natural environment from the impacts of littering and dispersion of pollutants. An additional and more recent concern is the resource value of waste. Our analysis shows that the regulatory concept of waste in the European Union, which comprises environmental principles, the legal definition of waste, legal requirements, and policy implementation, is not fit for addressing this concern. The legal definition of waste overlooks the context of waste, fails to consider the interests of the waste user as opposed to the waste holder, and aims to control the impacts of careless discarding rather than stimulating careful discarding. To address these challenges, we suggest a legal requirement to recognise the potential of waste to be used, operationalised by formulating a waste use potential, which expresses how and how much waste can be used as a resource, given enabling conditions. Recognition of waste use potential highlights local opportunities for reuse and recovery, reduces the likelihood of careless discarding, and reveals the interests of possible waste users to the waste holder. The waste use potential may be used in the formulation and evaluation of policies for industrial and municipal solid waste in a circular economy.

CIRCULAR ECONOMY MEASURES IN RESOURCE AND WASTE MANAGEMENT

2022

This paper reflects the result of readings of academic and policy documents on the circular economy. The objective was to obtain an overview of the concepts, current actions, and criticisms on this new topic of sustainable development, which would have as its main impact the reduction of solid waste and CO2 emissions. The readings made for the production of this paper lead to the conclusion that the circular economy requires a radical change in the models of production of goods and of doing business, and also in society's behavior related to consumption patterns.

Optimizing Circular Economy Strategies for Urban Waste Management

UoPeople M.Ed, 2023

Urban waste management and the transition to a circular economy represent two of the most pressing challenges of our era. This Group Four project delves into the dynamic intersection of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics to tackle a critical challenge in waste management and the circular economy. Within this interdisciplinary exploration, we navigate the intricate domain of waste management and the circular economy, unearthing the distinctive challenges faced by each STEM strand. Our project comprehensively examines innovative strategies and collaborative recommendations. We aim to provide insights into a sustainable path forward in urban waste management by weaving together the strengths of each discipline. In this presentation, we systematically analyze how mathematics, science, technology, and engineering collectively contribute to a transformative vision for our future.

Global Tendencies in Waste Management Considering Circular Economy Principles

[English] With a growing urban population, that consumes an ever increasing amount of raw materials, the approach of the circular economy has gained interest from academia and decision-makers as a promising solution to urban challenges. This review aims to find out in how far the circular economy is reflected as a guiding principle of waste management in the academic literature during the past ten years. A selection of 28 full-text papers dealing with specific case studies have been analysed regarding their geographical scale (international, national, municipal, industrial) and the principles of reduce, reuse, recycle and recover. The results indicate a stronger consideration of the recycling and reuse principles on the national and municipal levels, as well as a strong research representation of the European Union and China. Furthermore, a number of technical papers dealing with the recover principle on the industrial scale have been identified. While the strong arguments for a move towards a circular economy are broadly confirmed, issues of social participation and technological progress are identified as future challenges. [Português] Com uma população cada vez mais urbana que consome cada vez maiores quantidades de recursos, a economia circular tem ganhado interesse pelos acadêmicos e por tomadores de decisão como uma solução prometedora à solução dos desafios urbanos. Esta revisão bibliográfica visa descobrir em que medida a economia circular é refletida como princípio orientador no gerenciamento de resíduos nos últimos dez anos. Foi analisada uma seleção de 28 artigos completos que tratam de estudos de caso específicos quanto à sua escala geográfica (internacional, nacional, municipal, industrial) e os princípios reduzir, reutilizar, reciclar e recuperar. Os resultados indicam uma maior consideração dos princípios de reciclagem e reutilização a nível nacional e municipal, bem como uma forte representação da União Europeia e da China nas pesquisas. Além disso, foram identificados vários artigos técnicos relacionados com o princípio de recuperação à escala industrial. Embora os fortes argumentos em prol da mudança para uma economia circular sejam amplamente confirmados, as questões de participação social e progresso tecnológico são identificadas como desafios futuros. Palavras-chave: revisão bibliográfica; gerenciamento de resíduos, economia circular.