critical raw material supplies , resources , and materials , human and environmental health , consumer protection rights , and the will and needs of civil society for the benefit of future generations as inspired by the original United Nations definition of sustainability –‘ meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own need ’.
The EU circular economy framework delivers macro-economic reform managing risk , protecting , and reshaping European manufacturing and production sectors by securing :
• internal markets for critical raw , and secondary materials supplies essential for the success and competitiveness of the manufacturing and production sectors ie . recycled plastics in Belgium flow to the car manufacturing sector , recycled metals in Sweden flow to metals producers .
• Settings for , and investment in circular innovation to secure first mover advantage for European business
• Establishing dynamic and static economic policies to ensure markets for secondary materials flows are not locked in at a low price I . e . highest value materials from the construction and demolition sectors must be prepared for re-use .
• Regional resilience by reducing the need for imports ie . increasing local suppliers and supply chain links .
• Policies to encourage European institutions and financial sectors to invest in circular economic activities .
• Certification systems that promote and build consumer confidence in the circular economic marketplace over the entire supply chain .
The EU reform is stakeholder focussed rather than shareholder focussed – it requires shifts in thinking including responsibility , participation , and cooperation . Importantly circular economic principles and definitions are well established . The world first British Circular Economic Standard 8001:2017 Framework for implementing the circular economy an organisation ’ s guide , defines circular economic principles as :
• Innovation
• Stewardship
• Value Optimisation
• Systems thinking
• Transparency
To support economic transitions , the EU framework expresses clear goals and targets addressing risk and providing structural economic incentives through taxation reform to drive step process change for the manufacturer and production sectors , as well as ensuring consumers are rewarded for their economic participation in driving an authentic sustainable marketplace through reduced or no Value Added Tax rates , or refund deposit schemes .
APPLICATION OF THE HIERARCHY OF CONTROLS FROM A EUROPEAN UNION POLICY PERSPECTIVE When the substantive EU Waste Directive framework , the centre piece of the EU Circular Economic Package 2015 , is placed inside of a risk hierarchy of controls an integrated policy and practice system emerges :
Elimination : ban on prescribed materials entering landfills , landfill the last and most expensive repository for materials , ban on contamination of products destined for recycling through separate collection systems , design and prepare products for re-use and repair and highly quality recycling , requirement for longevity rather than accepting designed obsolesce , removal of single use products causing most harm and economic loss .
Mitigate : Step processes in product design phase to reduce waste outputs over entire product life span , ensure separate collection systems and processes for products and materials to optimise their secondary market value , transfer end of life management costs to producers and manufacturers through extended product stewardship requirements , investing and build recovery infrastructure as alternatives to landfilling , mandating recycled content for new products .
Review and Consult : regularly review and revise directives , application of auditable and transparent performance management systems , extensive and timely consultation with stakeholders , realistic transition time frames 1- 3 years .
Monitor : Gross and net economic value of materials re-entering the market . Number of jobs created , new enterprises , and demonstratable reduced volumes of waste and pollutants .
WEALTH GENERATION & RE-USE ? Why focus on waste ? There is no better example of economic inefficiency than waste generation . All potential is lost due to the linear nature of bash , bury , burn models = end of life = end of opportunity .
Our company Recovery Tas , as owners and operators of the Recovery Shop have for 29 years recovered products and materials from the waste stream and placed them back into circulation – we are re-use and market development specialists . Daily auditing demonstrates over 40,000,000 products and parts have gone through our facility generating over $ 12,000,000 in new wealth . Our model has provided ongoing full-time permanent employment at a higher rate than recycling or landfill , from a Glenorchy City population base of 46,000 , with an average of 157,000 visitation per annum .
Our operation is a circular economic hub .
Like all circular economic activities , the Recovery Shop operations are complex , we salvage directly from landfill , receive , pick-up , deconstruct , process and repair re-usable products and materials ( waste in Australian industry terminology ) into thirty three categories of sale to optimise market value , and estimate we can manage several thousand items a day – incoming and outgoing . We are just like any other retail outlet . As a circular economic hub , our outcomes are simple and measurable :
• High public participation rates and permanent gainful employment
• High volumes of audited materials , products , and parts put back into circulation
• New wealth generated
• Number of sales transactions
• Reduced landfill volume and associated cost savings
• Embedded carbon
As operators and developers of longstanding , we are envious of the EU success in driving major reform . We are not economically incentivised in any way for the high level of waste reduction we and our colleagues have achieved .
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT JOURNAL VOL 13 NO 2 2020 13