Day: July 18, 2021

For the first time, RMI has examined the vast potential for resource recycling in China and shown how it can serve as an important component of reaching the nation’s zero-carbon goal. Growing the Circular Economy: Opportunities for Resource Recycling under China’s Carbon-Neutrality Target [PDF] quantifies the market opportunity across nine key segments, from scrap steel and plastics to biomass and EV batteries, finding a ¥2.8 trillion potential market in 2050. The report provides a qualitative analysis of each of these segments, looking at the current state of the market and addressing issues such as resource availability, existing policy supports, and the potential for greenhouse gas mitigation. It also explores how the development of resource recycling industries can help to shift business ecosystems towards a circular economy with greater efficiency, lower emissions, and reduced waste.

There are times when the challenge of plastic waste seems so immense and so intractable that solutions feel difficult to find. More than 60 percent of plastics end up in a landfill or the natural environment. Millions of tonnes of plastic waste spill into the oceans every year, creating highly visible ecological devastation, a stark reminder that immediate action is needed.
Yet by working in partnership, the consumer goods industry can make a profound positive difference. At The Consumer Goods Forum (CGF), we know that business collaboration is an essential part of the answer. We may be competitors in business, but together we are making the case for change, using our influential reach to create changes for people, business and planet.
The 41 members of our Plastic Waste Coalition of Action​ – representing more than 10 percent of the global plastic packaging market – are striving to deliver the solutions that industry can provide.
Read the full article at: www.foodnavigator.com

Speaking about the Green Enterprise: Innovation for a Circular Economy funding call, Laura Burke, Director General of the EPA said: “A ‘circular’ economy reduces waste throughout the economic cycle and ensures that materials are used as efficiently as possible. “Circular businesses reduce costs and environmental impact by reusing, repairing and recycling materials already in use. These approaches can advance the green transition, accelerate digital transformation and can deliver new jobs and skills as Ireland implements its National Recovery and Resilience Plan.” A ‘circular’ economy reduces waste throughout the economic cycle and ensures that materials are used as efficiently as possible. The EPA is inviting business and industry applicants from across Ireland’s economy with business-ready innovative projects targeting the areas of food, plastic, construction and demolition waste and resources and raw materials.”

Think about how many different pieces of technology the average household has purchased in the last decade. Phones, TVs, computers, tablets, and game consoles don’t last forever, and repairing them is difficult and often as expensive as simply buying a replacement. Electronics are integral to modern society, but electronic waste (e-waste) presents a complex and growing challenge in the path toward a circular economy–a more sustainable economic system that focuses on recycling materials and minimizing waste. Adding to the global waste challenge is the prevalence of dishonest recycling practices by companies who claim to be recycling electronics but actually dispose of them by other means, such as in landfills or shipping the waste to other countries.

We know we use far more resources per year today than the Earth manages to regenerate. And the warnings of the long-term negative consequences this will have are becoming increasingly clear—not only for the environment, but also for the economy and for social structures. One possible solution is to transition to a circular economy where resources are used over and over again instead of wasted, and where the energy used is renewable. It is estimated that this would not only be beneficial for the environment and resources, but that it could help create 700,000 new jobs in the EU area alone and save the business community 600 billion euros. This would be a win-win situation.