The Circular Economy

Good as gold: Waste in a circular economy

By Barbara Nebel and Femi Perumbally https://www.thinkstep-anz.com/ There is no waste in a circular economy, only resources and opportunities to use them to their full potential. Unlike a linear economy, a circular economy or ōhanga āmiomio, proposes a model in which economic growth is not connected to an increased use of limited, natural resources. Instead, growth in a circular economy relies on designing products and systems for longevity in their first life and recyclability and reusability for consequent lives. Therefore, we can keep resources in use for as long as possible and reduce the demand for raw (virgin) material — getting the most value out of existing materials and reducing the costs of material extraction methods in the process. However, we currently live in a linear economy with a take-make-dispose model in which waste is inevitable. While there is still a way to go before we reach a truly circular economy, some businesses are leading the transition with innovative approaches to create value with waste-based products. From galvanising to paint to IT equipment waste, we look at some of the local businesses creating golden opportunities with waste. Zincovery — Creating a waste free industry The galvanised steel industry produces a waste acid with a high concentration of zinc — an eco-toxin that is essential for humans in trace amounts but toxic to aquatic life. Generally, this is disposed of via wastewater and landfill after treatment. However, this results in the loss of zinc, a useful mineral, and its incomplete removal from wastewater degrades most sewage treatment processes and causes environmental damage to waterways. Zincovery tackles these issues by taking the waste acid and recycling it while also recovering zinc. While extracting valuable materials from waste is certainly circular economy friendly, it does not necessarily have to be climate friendly. Zincovery […]

Circular Economy Awards launched in Australia & New Zealand

A new awards program, The Circle Awards, will celebrate and unite the businesses, organisations, projects and people shaping the circular economy in Australia and New Zealand. Established by The World’s Most Rubbish (TWMR) in partnership with NSW Circular, The Bravery, and Urban List, The Circle Awards aims to spotlight products and services adopting circular practices that span all aspects of our day-to-day lives. It also aims to grow awareness of the sustainable options available to more people, not just the ones who are already looking for them. In contrast to our current ‘take-make-waste’ linear model, a circular economy is regenerative by design. It’s about rethinking the entire approach in order to design out waste and pollution, keep products and materials in use and regenerate natural systems. Keeping resources in use for longer, and in a perpetual loop, or circle, reduces environmental impact and protects precious natural resources. Nick Hoskin, Co-Founder of TWMR and The Circle Awards said, “Many consumers and brands are already contributing towards a more circular world, sometimes without realising it. While we’re hearing the term ‘circularity’ or the ‘circular economy’ more than ever, the understanding of what this means, both in theory and practice, is limited.” “The Circle Awards showcases tangible examples of circularity in action, demonstrating to people that we can consume more consciously without compromising on quality, cost or experience. In fact, circular design thinking is behind some of the most interesting products and services on the market as a driving force for innovation. The result can be a far superior experience because every aspect in the process has been carefully considered to deliver the best possible outcome,” explained Nick. Importantly, The Circle Awards is here to recognise and celebrate those making progress in this space, not just those doing it perfectly or on a […]

Additive Manufacturing: Re-thinking how we use materials in a circular economy

By Dr. Jim Goddin, Technical Director of Circular Economy at thinkstep-anz. The circular economy presents a more economically sustainable and lower-risk alternative to the highly wasteful, linear, take-make-dispose economy. The regenerative model proposed by the circular economy shows that when the things we make are designed to last, their economic value can be recovered for the benefit of the business. If delivered well, the circular economy can also provide significant environmental and social benefits. The circular economy presents key opportunities for products that rely on advanced manufacturing processes such as Additive Manufacturing. Additive Manufacturing (AM) — sometimes called 3D printing or near-net-shape manufacturing — is the process of building a part layer by layer through selectively fusing (or sintering) the material using a laser or electron beam. This layer-wise process delivers design freedoms that are unavailable in more traditional manufacturing techniques. World-leading AM collaborations are incorporating Life Cycle Assessment principles when developing AM processes and parts, including the €18M (NZD $30M) AMAZE project — Europe’s largest and most ambitious metal additive manufacturing research project. Many AM projects also have a strong focus on resource efficiency. Metrics, such as the Material Circularity Indicator (MCI), enable us to gauge resource efficiency and in turn, quantify how circular products are. How then might AM be promoted based on circularity? Recovering manufacturing value in a circular economy The circular economy is estimated to represent a $NZD $7.5T global economic opportunity. This massive economic value stems from the reduction of supply risks and the recovery of value that is currently lost through products which are designed inefficiently, under-utilised, or which otherwise go to waste. Recovering materials through recycling is a prominent part of the circular economy and serves an essential purpose in reducing waste. However, recovering raw material value only accounts for a tiny portion […]

Circular product stewardship: Starting with design

By Barbara Nebelwww.thinkstep-anz.com/ In the transition to a circular economy, New Zealand first needs to address its continued reliance on a linear take-make-waste model. For organisations looking to take meaningful action, taking responsibility for the end-of-life of their products with product stewardship can be a key part of the solution. With proponents ranging from successful businesses to new industry and governmental initiatives, it is safe to predict that product stewardship is here to stay and ready to play a pivotal role in the circular transition. Starting with the waste problem during this process is a common tactic but the best approach starts at the beginning with product design. In fact, UK based Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) found that 80% of the environmental impacts of modern products are determined during product design and development. Incorporating product stewardship into product design will provide more circular solutions for end-of-life decisions, minimise waste in the process and ultimately, speed up the transition to a circular economy. This is exactly what Utility Electric Vehicle (UEV) company UBCO has set out to do. Starting with product stewardship Focused on a largely electronic product with a high capacity lithium-ion battery, UBCO identified end of life processes and product stewardship as their defining sustainability issues. For UBCO, tackling these issues head on starts with design. UBCO’s product design approach utilises life cycle thinking to consider the entire value chain – from the raw materials and the energy used to create the product, through to the packaging, distribution, use, maintenance, and eventually recycling, reuse, recovery, and final disposal. “It would have been easiest to have battery and electronics in a big block of resin to make it waterproof – but that would prevent any product stewardship approach in future”, says Timothy Allan, CEO and Managing Director of […]

Think outside the loop: Beyond the circular economy

-Barbara Nebel, CEO, thinkstep ANZ We are hearing more and more about the circular economy as a way to reduce our impact on the environment by getting the most use out of materials. Steel is often cited as a great example of a circular product, due to its recyclability and the option to reuse elements when “design for deconstruction” principles are applied. The circular economy also has economic benefits – to reduce the need to produce new materials, and the associated cost, we can reuse what has already been produced. However, to truly reduce our impact on the environment, we need data to inform our decisions and must look beyond a purely circular approach and take other environmental impacts into account too. Comparing tomatoes with tomatoes Stepping away from the hard structure of steel for a moment to something much more fragile: the example I most often use, tomatoes, are often packaged in single-use plastic. A circular economy approach would first look at reducing packaging, or producing it using recycled materials. However, the purpose of the packaging is to reduce food waste. Companies like Tesco’s have introduced strips containing ethylene remover to reduce how fast the tomatoes ripen, extending their shelf-life further. While this introduces another packaging element, it also means that fewer tomatoes have to be produced to meet demands, reducing the resources such as water, energy and fertiliser required to grow them. If we calculate the overall environmental impact of producing packaging against the reduced food waste, we quickly see that removing packaging altogether would actually increase the overall environmental impact of tomatoes. If we then decide to produce the packaging using recycled materials, will we need to use more energy to manufacture the packaging, or more water to clean the plastic before it is recycled? Circular economy […]

Very smart Australian manufacturing

Solar-powered furniture offers off-grid connection South Australian outdoor furniture brand Sedi has developed bespoke benches and shelter options for smart cities and regional areas. Bronte Modra, the director of Adelaide-based modular engineering company Specialised Solutions, created the Sedi range of park benches, parklets and bus stops in February this year. The smart shelters are built from sustainable timber and steel and have solar-powered lighting, integrated charging ports, WIFI and informational screens that all run off a battery. Modra said he created Sedi to fill a large hole in the Australian manufacturing market created by the burgeoning smart city movement. “People want to be connected to the furniture and to the web, and the greater society,” said Modra. “Everyone talks about smart cities but no one is really delivering a piece of smart furniture here. “We just saw a real need and something that we could make out of our existing facility.” The Sedi office is located at the Tonsley innovation district alongside technology companies such as SAGE Automation, which, together with JPE Design Studio, helped develop the furniture. Modra decided to make the units “off-grid” to attract buyers who couldn’t connect to a power source. “It being solar-powered gives us a lot more flexibility to where the Sedi is placed,” he said. “With Sedi we can go to regional, remote locations and open up connectivity there. “It’s also cost-saving measure for councils to install in the park [as] service connections are fairly expensive.” Modra said they weren’t “reinventing the wheel” with the furniture’s individual technological features, however these add-ons were compounded to develop a new brand of smart furniture fit for a multitude of environments. “We would like to see them absolutely everywhere: the typical bus stops on your streets, your typical parks, council parks and reserves,” he said. “But we’re really trying to tap […]

People, people, people – the future of work

So, I challenge you. When imaging the future of work, put people at the centre. Adele Rose – 3R Group Chief Executive What is the future of work? Is it a world filled with automation – machines ceaselessly performing tasks humans once did, never tiring, never falling ill, generating maximum profit? I believe he tangata, he tangata, he tangata (it is the people, it is the people, it is the people). I believe this because there is a shift starting to happen in business in which the impact of what we do is becoming an important metric of success. In the recent Institute of Directors Magazine overview by Chief Executive Kirsten Patterson, she states the seasons are changing. The skills needed to lead through the future of work challenges of tomorrow are quite different to the traditionally valued skills of yesterday. Kirsten reminds us that regardless of whether the robots are knocking on the door to your office yet or not, the new valuable skills for the future of work are our adaptability quotient, and our ability to be lifelong learners. It was Mahatma Gandhi who said we should, “learn as if we were going to live forever.” One of the great thinkers of our time on the future of work, Chris Kutarna, spoke at the recent Pacific Summit on the Circular Economy, which I attended. He reminds us that we can plan for the future we can see – the future that, from where we’re standing now, we know is coming. However, he asks us “what about the future we can’t see?” Chris challenges us to shift our thinking – our ability to conceive what is coming next – from an organisation-centred economy where people are sought to perform valuable tasks, but are also seen as a “cost”, and […]

Plastic packaging re-think needed

The first-ever study on NZ’s entire plastic packaging system highlights how even radically improved recycling will not solve all its problems. New Zealanders need to rethink the way we make, use and dispose of plastic packaging. It highlights how everyone has a role to play and no one entity can solve the issues associated with plastic packaging. A co-ordinated circular economy approach is required, which tackles the root causes of the problem not just individual symptoms. In a circular economy the life cycles of materials are maximised, usage optimised and at the end of life, all materials are reutilised so that nothing is wasted. This presents a viable and prosperous alternative to the dominant linear, ‘take, make, waste’ system. The study was led by James Griffin of SBN’s Circular Economy Accelerator. “There has been an explosion in the use of plastic packaging in the last 60 years because it is relatively cheap, lightweight and durable. Unfortunately, systems to properly manage it have not kept pace. This has led to a global waste and pollution crisis, including here in New Zealand. More recently, the stresses in our system were highlighted when China effectively closed its doors to the world’s waste.” The study identifies measures to significantly increase recycling rates such as reduction in the types and formats of plastics used, more on-shore processing facilities, consistent collections around the country, increasing demand for recycled materials and a container deposit scheme. James cautions that, although such measures offer opportunities to improve the situation, recycling alone cannot solve the issues associated with plastic packaging. “There needs to be a wider approach, for example, problematic and unnecessary plastic packaging needs to be identified and eliminated from our supply chains. Reuse models need to be adopted and scaled as an alternative to single-use plastics.” The SBN […]

Why it pays to join the circular economy

We all know that the current linear economic model is not sustainable. Materials are extracted, manufactured into products and then discarded into landfill – it’s a system that wastes valuable resources, causes environmental damage and will make it near impossible to satisfy the demands of the 3 billion new consumers in developing nations, who are expected to join the middle class by 2030. The concept of the circular economy is about decoupling growth from resource consumption – and maximising the positive environmental, economic and social effects. It’s about designing products so that they are easier to reuse or recycle, like Timberland’s Earthkeeper shoes. It’s about making sure that every product ingredient is biodegradable or fully recyclable, like the chemicals company that has replaced fossil-fuel feedstocks in their production methods. It’s about maximising useful product life by repairing or remanufacturing, like Caterpillar’s parts-refurbishing programme. The circular economy is about new business models that have shifted from selling products to selling services, such as the tyre company that offers a per-km tyre-leasing service. It is about eliminating waste from production, and making sure any waste is recovered as a valuable resource, whether it’s heat, slurry, nutrients, organic material, metal, salt – whatever. It’s about engaging your customers throughout the life cycle of the product, instead of the few minutes during which they make a purchase; and, ultimately, it’s about gaining competitive advantage. The scale of the competitive advantage is startling. Against a backdrop of resource prices that have more than doubled over the past 10-12 years, erasing the commodity-price decline of the 20th century, our material-saving potential is expected to reach around $1 trillion per year by 2025. The opportunity presented by the circular economy in Europe and the US pales into insignificance compared with what is at stake in developing nations, […]

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The Circular Economy