Circularity is more than just recycling, it’s mostly design
By Husam Taha, Principal Analyst – Plastics Sustainability, Wood Mackenzie
The production of plastics is a major contributor to global carbon emissions, as it relies on fossil raw materials. However, emissions are not the only issue; plastics have very long lifetimes and pollute the natural environment if not managed properly. This environmental aspect means that the world needs to manage the end of life of plastics. To this end, the circular economy was conceptualized to be the solution to plastic problems, but is it? In this article, we delve deep into why designing for sustainability trumps circularity.
Circularity as a concept focuses on the reutilization of materials as many times as possible, with a focus on recovery (recycling) of material back to the same or a lesser quality. However, for a long time, one could not think of recycling without thinking of PET. The system was geared towards maximizing the recovery and recyclability of PET without paying much attention to other polymers, and certainly not to textiles. This was due to the fact that PET, as a polymer, was resistant to contamination if recycled to a 95% purity and higher. While PET is found in few applications relative to other polymers, such as beverage bottles and food-trays, polyolefins for example, are found in different sectors including automotive, construction, textiles, packaging and industrial. The past few years saw the world turn its attention to other polymers, from polyolefins all the way to polyamides. It has become clear that true circularity cannot be achieved without rethinking our production systems as well as the collection and recycling of polymers.
The transition to a circular economy challenges the industry to deal with new issues. Dealing with other polymers means having to rethink how we do things. This means that true circularity of polyolefins cannot be accomplished without a vertical sectoral view; recycling more pipes for example, is a completely different challenge than recycling LDPE bags in agriculture.
To compare two European examples, we can look at the automotive and construction sectors. Cars for example, have not been designed with recycling in mind, therefore the dismantling of vehicles and recovery of materials continues to be a challenge. Similarly, despite strict environmental laws, the construction sector has suffered from similar issues, resulting in very high loss rates of materials. Even with successful dismantling, both types of waste streams require sorting facilities that are specifically designed for these types of waste, which adds more cost and complexity to the process. Despite the possibility of circularity here, there are several challenges that make it difficult, with the ongoing re-design process being at a very early stage to fix these issues on the long-term horizon.
For economies around the world that are hoping to set foot in the circular world, the journey might seem long, with experience and knowledge still missing in managing waste and creating a circular economy. However, economies that are willing and able to transition to a more sustainable way of doing things, are already starting to invest in their value chains. Looking into the Middle East, two countries stand out very clearly for their transition plans, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
As the consequences of climate change become ever clearer, governments and the private sector are eager to find the perfect formula to undertake the energy transition. No countries, however, could be more vulnerable and sensitive to this massive change than countries historically reliant on oil & gas production. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have taken special interest in creating transition plans, and this includes ambitions in the circular economy as well. Under the circumstances, investing in a sustainable materials transition is not just smart for the environment, but is also a derisking strategy of the country’s future economic fundamental drivers.
Both countries will have to overcome several structural challenges to be able to transform their materials economy. First and foremost, governments will have to bring their populations onboard, EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility) laws and waste segregation at home must be a part of everyday life. To ensure success, these countries will have to bring labelling laws and communication with the consumer to a much higher level than where it is today. If we take Europe as an example, one can argue that this is an ongoing process that will not be solved overnight. Therefore, and until this becomes the local standard, the sorting of mixed waste and avoiding landfilling is the ideal first step before creating a dual-bin system that works.
Where both countries have assigned capital to transform this change, the corner stone of this transformation might lie in both countries’ plans to divert generated waste away from landfills and into business opportunities, from energy generation and all the way to recycling. Saudi Arabia has ambitious plans to divert 90% of waste from landfills by 2040, while the UAE has diversion targets of 80% by 2031. These ambitions might indeed be challenging, but they are likely to be the signal that triggers the creation of the circular economy on the long-term horizon.
Focusing on diversion of waste from landfills is an important first step, as packaging and consumer waste represents about 45%. However, to tackle the whole 100%, countries will have to incorporate all types of consumption and waste in their design of waste management infrastructure. Looking beyond PET and into polyolefins, observing recycling rates in Europe and the forecasts for Saudi Arabia and the UAE, one observation is made clear: A circular economy cannot be achieved with recycling alone.
This means that for the world to establish a truly circular world, we would be wise to think about the sustainable use of materials. For example, think repair of electronics (hair dryers and toothbrushes) rather than “dump and buy”. Think of repurposing of buildings (concrete, pipes and PP insulation boards) that are already built instead of demolishing and finally think of cities that rely more on public transport (trams and buses). The world is transforming whether we like it or not, and we must be able to steer it in the right direction. A circular economy is therefore not only about reusing materials – it is, above all, about embracing a sustainable way of life that aligns with planetary boundaries; boundaries that we must respect if we are to avoid the worst consequences of climate change.
