Achieving a Truly Circular Economy (CE) –
One that meets community expectations as efficiently and quickly as possible – is now a critical challenge.
Starting with a Working Definition of a Circular Economy
A Circular Economy promotes the continuous use, regeneration, and recovery of materials and products. It values resources, and favours design for durability, repairability, and recyclability – or any of the 13+ “R” strategies designers might adopt.
More than recycling, a CE is a systemic approach to production and consumption that includes the potential for Product Initiators & Designers (PI&D’s), to focus their design ambitions on all/any of the 13+ “R’s” – Refuse; Rethink; Reuse; Repair; Refurbish; Remanufacture; Repurpose; Recycle; Research; Re-skill; Re-design; Re-vision and Recover. Other? with the broader goal to address global challenges like climate change, biodiversity loss, waste, and pollution through three core principles:
- Designing out waste and pollution (addressed in TS#1)
- Keeping products and materials in use (addressed in TS#2)
- Regenerating natural systems (addressed in TS#3)
Fig 1: What a Circular Economy should look like, as a minimum; certainly, an advance on the “recycling economy” which passes for most of the prevailing activity in this space at present.
(Source: EcoWaste Pty Ltd.)
Focus of TS#1: Designing Out Waste
This Thought Starter focuses on Commercial & Industrial (C&I) and Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) streams—and the critical role of PI&Ds in influencing these flows.
NB: This TS#1 focuses on the Product Initiators & Designers (PI&Ds) effectively the “brands” as the starting point for Circular Economy outcomes to be achieved due to their unique role as the actual parties that commit budgets and resources for the production of all products and services that will subsequently present to consumers, and then to the materials recovery sector, needing systematic handling in line with whichever of the 13+ R’s had been selected at inception.
Why PI&Ds Matter
Whether part of a global brand or a niche Small to Medium Enterprise (SME), PI&Ds hold the unique power to make key early decisions:
- What is the product’s function and context of use?
- What materials and manufacturing methods could/should be employed?
- What is the optimal marketing distribution strategy?
- Most importantly, what post-consumer pathways—aligned to the chosen “R” strategy—are feasible, and what actions are needed to ensure these are actually achieved?
The Broader Challenge
To make these design decisions meaningful and actionable, it seems the PI&Ds will require, as an absolute minimum that the following have been systematically addressed for PI&D’s, ranging from international conglomerates, down to individual SME’s, to fully participate in these CE goals.
- Regulatory certainty:
What national standards and harmonised policies are needed to encourage optimised PI&D’s participation whilst systematically addressing the free-rider issues (See TS#4) - Infrastructure alignment:
Given the variation in post-consumer processing systems across jurisdictions, what consistent, cost-effective national harmonised infrastructure is needed to support the full range of potential “R” strategies? (See TS#3) - Feedstock availability:
How can we ensure a reliable supply of quality recyclate and recovered materials, so that PI&Ds can confidently choose “circular” recyclate materials as a foundation option during their sustainable design activities? (See TS#3)
CALL FOR COLLABORATION AND INPUT
AIEN welcomes all feedback, critiques, and suggestions to refine and strengthen this Thought Starter Series. We encourage alternative ideas that could achieve similar or better outcomes, especially those addressing cross-cutting issues.
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Disclaimer: The views expressed in each paper are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position of AIEN.