CIRCULAR ECONOMY: A START TO A NEW GLOBAL ECONOMIC MODEL

From linear to circular: a strategy, not a serendipity

Since the Industrial Revolution of the nineteenth century, our economic model has been mainly linear: natural resources are continuously extracted in order to produce goods and services in increasing quantities, that are consumed and then discarded at the end of their use. This model poses a problem for the future of humanity because the planet's resources are not unlimited. According to the website of Alliance, in 1969, the planet was barely sufficient to meet the needs of the world's population.[1] The think tank Global Footprint Network [2] estimated that in 2019, 1.75 planets were already needed to meet all of our needs.

One has therefore to note that the model of linear economy no longer allows us to apprehend a reasonable future for humanity. This is why we need to move to a model focused on avoiding waste and reducing the intensity of resource use, while reducing environmental impacts. The increase in the use of materials could also be slowed down due to advanced technology and the possibility of recycling some materials. This is precisely what the circular economy is aiming for.

Already in 2004 the Chinese professor Chen Demin of the University of Chongqing defined the circular economy as follows: “It is a kind of economic model, aimed to protect the environment and realize the sustainable utilization of material resources, and ensure sustainable development for human society. In order to promote the efficiency of resources recycling in industrial and living processes, this economic model refers to a few important measures, which include the clean production using market mechanism and macro-controlling”.[3]

Circular economy is also a mind-set and if I may say so: it should be it in the first place. The hereabove mentioned professor Chen Demin puts it as follows in the same article: “The recycling economy is a dynamic concept. It is a dynamic state that economy, environment and human society develop co-ordinately. It depends on technology advancement. It invites the public opinion to embrace the principle of not exhausting the planet, to go for sustainability, for reuse of materials and garbage and for avoiding waste by making the effort of re-entering used products in the consumption chain.” It is the young generation, the Millennials and the Gen Z, that embraces fully this mind-set, and that also loves technical innovation in a sustainable context.

The building-blocks of a circular economy

There are several definitions of circular economy worldwide. In most cases, one finds the definition of a circular economy resumed in three principles to be put in practice: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle[4] . These keywords are primarily aiming the behaviour of households. These are the steps they could/should take. When we start to focus on companies and the efforts they can make, this list expands further. They will have to invest, but they can also earn money with it. ?The list of r-words gets therefore longer in a way that one starts talking about the R-ladder. The ladder then indicates the effectiveness with which circularity is implemented. The higher up the ladder the better. It is about maximum reusability and minimum value destruction of raw materials and products. Some experts who have to assess projects on the intensity of their circularity use the ladder as a checklist. The R-ladder refers to the following matters: refuse, rethink, reduce, re-use, repair, refurbish, remanufacture, repurpose, recycling and recover.[5]

One of the indictments of the students in May 68, was an outcry against the emerging consumption society. Multiple were already?the closures of factories in textiles, mechanics, metallurgy throughout Europe and America. Many utensils, products, food, etc. that we currently consume as families were from then on produced on an industrial level, often even far from home, or with parts that have completed a 4 month sea voyage. The post-industrial consumption society has also become a throwaway society, with concepts such as fast food, fast fashion and even fast furniture.

And here appears the connection between the circular economy and climate change. Every mining operation, clearing forests, growing industrial crops such as cotton consumes large-scale energy, deploys large-scale machinery and -in the case of cotton- swallows water from the environment. This results in large-scale CO2 emissions. Unlike virgin materials,?raw materials that already have been mined or yarns that already have been woven, can be put in use again with as much value as possible, while also reducing amounts of waste materials, and can be reused with less energy and machinery. This technique is referred to as “urban mining”. So not only is the soil less quickly exhausted, the lower consumption of energy and machines drastically reduces CO2 emissions. Raw materials such as lead and aluminium[6] have infinite recyclability without loss of performance that pushes its circular economy credentials into the realm of maximum valorisation.

A typical example for reuse thanks to this urban mining type is the development of recycled batteries. Indeed, researchers from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and the US Advanced Battery Consortium have shown that recycled lithium-ion batteries perform just as well as batteries with newly mined lithium. That study offers hope for the electric car industry for which essential metals are becoming increasingly scarce.[7] The results arrive very quickly: a battery for a car consists for the most part of lithium. But there are more metals in it, such as nickel, manganese and cobalt. Several companies, start-ups and others, invested lately in this battery recycling business of which the knowhow is again disseminated worldwide.

French multinational Veolia announced early 2022 to build a recycling plant for electric vehicles in the United Kingdom.

Veolia’s new factory will be located in Minworth, in the West Midlands of the United Kingdom. The company could recycle about 1,000 tons of batteries by 2024. In 2040 this should be 350,000 tons per year. The plant will discharge and dismantle batteries and then complete the recycling processes for mechanical and chemical separation.[8]

The stumbling block in this whole process is the still significant price difference between virgin and recycled materials. This price difference is unfortunately artificial because when calculating the recycling of existing raw materials, all cost factors are included, whereas this is not the case with newly mined materials. In 2018, before the pandemic hit, the world emitted greenhouse gases with a warming potential of about 55 gigatons. About a fifth of this comes from changes in land use and agriculture. Producers of industrial crops such as cotton are not penalized for the enormous water consumption that results in desertification and thus a reduction in CO2 absorption. The remainder quantity of greenhouse gases consists largely of emissions from energy consumption and industrial processes. Data from the World Resources Institute, a think tank, show how these emissions are distributed[9] . Buildings (about 17% of the total) and road transport (12%) are the largest contributors. Other modes of transportation are also of interest, with shipping and flights at 2% each. Logistics players who are responsible for the transport of materials and crops from distant regions are not penalized for CO2 emissions during transport. Within industry, iron and steel (8%), chemicals and petrochemicals (6%) and cement (3%) are big parts of the pie. Miners on the other hand are not penalized for the CO2 emissions of the energy used, nor of those of the machines used. The transition from fossil fuels remains therefore a huge challenge.

Creating awareness

What precedes the circular economy is to make the inhabitants of this planet aware that both the excessive consumption of energy and raw materials not only continuously causes CO2 and methane emissions, but also irresponsibly wastes the many materials that the earth is rich in, but cannot be replenished of. I know this is a long-term task: after all, man is a creature of habit whose behaviour is largely determined by two natural laws: the law of inertia and the law of least effort. The first is defined as resistance to change. The second is behavioural laziness.

Yet people can be activated. In a hard dictatorship behavioural change is imposed and resistance is broken[10] - provided the leader himself already has progressive insights for the governance of his country - . In a democracy, citizens need to be convinced through awareness campaigns. A large part of the population is reluctant to change its behaviour and resist it. The resistance of the antivaxxers during the corona crisis is a poignant example of this. Given this resistance, behavioural changes can only be stimulated at a level close to the population. That is why cities, municipalities and regions take initiatives for this, very often in collaboration with non-profit organisations. It is the municipalities that organize and encourage separate waste collection. It is the municipalities that put coloured containers in the street and smart garbage cans that also reward citizens for their efforts to throw litter in the garbage.

Targeting schools and universities

In order to achieve rapid success, governments of all levels often focus primarily on groups that are still open to change. It is obvious that the young generation is more attentive for their future and therefore also more open to modifying their behaviour and the one of their families. That is also the reason why the awareness campaign focus is often put on those target-groups.

A recent and very effective and targeted awareness campaign towards pupils is the one organized by FostPlus[11] , an initiative of the Belgian private sector that promotes, coordinates and finances the selective collection, sorting and recycling of household packaging waste.

In order to keep primary schools open during the Corona pandemic, schools in Belgium have been obliged to properly ventilate the classrooms and to monitor that ventilation and intervene where necessary. Fost Plus has made more than 2,000 CO2 meters available for free to classes that signed up for an educational workshop (LABO – Learning Waste Management at School) from January 2022 on.[12] The CO2 meters are in the form of a house and are made of recycled polypropylene (PP) from door-to-door selectively collected butter dishes and plastic pots, for example, that are given a second life in this way.

Outside the countries that openly declared their recycling strategy since long, this type of efforts is also introduced by new adherents to the principle such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE). One of the driving forces there is the company Dgrade. It produces Eco-friendly clothing and accessories made from recycled PET plastic. It supports a closed-loop supply chain working with clients to upcycle their plastic into uniforms, bags and more.[13]

DGrade’s Simply Bottles recycling initiative works with businesses and schools across the UAE to increase recycling rates of plastic bottles.

EU as change driver

The awareness projects that Europe supports through its Cohesion Fund are also numerous. The various Interreg programmes[14] have been bringing municipalities, cities, regions and research institutions together for several decades around projects that are supportive in the field of health, research and education, transport or sustainable energy. They often consist of supporting study days and research projects so that the partners and participants can learn from each other.

As a nice example, I would like to refer to a project called CECI, which is currently running between 1 Aug 2019 and 31 Jul 2023, with €1.5 million in support and partners in several countries. Partners in the project are: LAB University of Applied Sciences (until 31.12.2019 Lahti University of Applied Sciences) (FIN), Provence-Alpes-C?te d'Azur Region (F), Moravian-Silesian Innovation Centre Ostrava, a.s.(CZ), Varna Municipality (S), Government of Aragon (E), City of Malines (Mechelen) (B), Regional Council of P?ij?t-H?me (FIN).The lead partner is located in Finland.

In this Interreg project the aims are: (1) to raise awareness of circular economy and highlight the importance of citizen engagement, (2) to inspire citizens to adopt sustainable?consumption habits and behaviour patterns, (3) to promote new sustainable services, e.g. sharing?economy, lengthening product life cycles through reuse, repair, remanufacturing and refurbishment, (4) to further encourage waste reduction, energy savings and circular thinking.[15]

Europe inspires also neighbouring countries that have signed a co-operation agreement with the EU to take the same steps. And since the EU is also supporting these steps financially, the inspiration becomes reality.

The Asocia?ia pentru Valorificarea De?eurilor (Association for Waste Recovery) ?is a non-governmental organization established in 2010 in order to identify, mediate and implement an efficient waste recovery system in the Republic of Moldavia.[16] The association is represented by a team of national and international experts specialized in circular economy, legal assistance on environmental issues, waste management, investment, energy efficiency, who provide citizens with a wide range of services and eco-smart solutions for business and sustainable projects. The association is also the publisher of the “Waste Management” Magazine, the only profile magazine at national level, which provides the necessary information support to Local Public Agencies’ representatives, sanitation operators and economic agents in the Republic of Moldavia.

Cities and regions as drivers

The circular economy does not only give a second lease of life to objects, it can also give a second chance to an industrial town with a glorious past. An hour by train from Stockholm, the former Swedish industrial town of Eskilstuna has an unemployment rate that is twice the national average.

In order to stop this seemingly inexorable decline the town adopted a radical strategy: to make Eskilstuna the greenest place on the planet, thanks in particular to recycling. Since 2012, Eskilstuna has rolled out a plethora of green initiatives. [17] ?Since 2015, they can also drop off their unwanted items in containers at ReTuna, a large 5,000 m2 shopping centre where everything on the shelves is repaired, reused, recycled, upcycled, or produced sustainably. Eskilstuna is therefore the first city in the world to have hosted a shopping mall entirely dedicated to recycling and recovery. Despite some initial resistance to change, both the launch of the recycling system and ReTuna have been a success. It has helped to revitalize Eskilstuna and created 50 jobs, raised awareness of the circular economy for a whole population and made a town hit by unemployment a model for the nation and even the world.

Waste hunting and rethinking production chains

The first scourge of unreasonable consumption that affects businesses as well as households is created by waste. In the food sector alone, the FAO estimates the direct economic cost of wasted products at 900 billion euros per year. In France, this represents 20 to 30 kg per person per year. In the non-food sector, 630 million euros of new products are destroyed each year[18] . For companies concerned with reducing costs for the benefit of their margins, waste hunting should be a top priority.

Second lever for action: rethinking the companies’ production chains. This involves, upstream, optimizing the supply to reduce the purchase of raw materials, working on product traceability to reduce the consumption of resources and energy. Finally, to optimize its flows and waste management.

The principle of zero waste is on the rise, especially in industries that were confronted with a lot of waste because of the precision work they have to deliver. The cost of recovering and reusing this waste was considered too important. However, the scarcity in the raw materials market created during the corona pandemic has stimulated the thinking processes of many companies in various sectors. Below I propose recent examples from two industries in various countries.

The French Bouhyer group, bringing together the foundries of Ancenis (Loire-Atlantique, F) and Revin (Ardennes,?F), develops innovative technological recycling projects as part of a zero waste approach. The combustion of batteries will allow them to save fossil fuels, manganese, coke … Moreover in their zero waste approach, the zinc, residue from the combustion of batteries contained in the fumes, is captured by filters and is also recycled via specialized sectors. For the manufacture of their parts, they use single-use sand and resin moulds. These moulding sands are already 98% recycled. The remaining 2% will now be transformed by a plant decontamination process, phytoremediation: at the end of this process, the sand will be decontaminated, and therefore reusable, while the plants can be used as biomass. With this process, the company is a pilot site in Europe.[19]

The Infinited Fiber Company from Finland has developed a technology that converts textile waste containing a lot of cotton into a new material: Infinna. This fabric is similar to cotton, biodegradable and can be recycled again with other textile waste at the end of its life. The water used to produce Infinna is a fraction of the water used to grow an equal amount of conventional cotton. And because they don’t need farmland or forests to harvest, because they use existing waste streams as our raw material, Infinited Fiber keeps pre-existing materials in circulation and reduce the pressure on natural resources.

What can authorities do in the framework of the development of a circular economy?

Here I will try to bring together the elements that I have detected in the different countries I have followed.

Changing behaviour through legal framework & public procurement

National governments create a legislative framework. That framework can be mandatory, but not all countries opt for it. France traditionally goes the furthest in this regard. The Loi AGEC or anti-waste law that came into effect on January 1, 2022 prohibits many things, but also obliges many things.[20] The fact that France has set strict standards in the production of new plastics, that require the processing of a significant percentage of recycled plastics, has led the large French multinationals, to join forces with processors:

In this context a nice case is the one of the Auvergne-based company Carbios. This interesting scale-up recreates a virgin resin, through a technology unique in the world, based on enzymes, from plastics that could only be buried or burned. Including synthetic textiles, of which only a third are reused. The SME will create two factories, one in France and one in Germany. Listed on the stock exchange, it also convinced to enter its capital the French multinationals L'Oréal, L'Occitane and Michelin, the latter hosting its industrial demonstrator in Clermont-Ferrand (Puy-de-D?me). [21]

National, regional and local authorities can also steer successfully. They have a lot of resources to spend in the context of public procurement. Call for tenders must be drawn up for this, which indicate which criteria a service provider or a product seller must meet in order to be eligible for the tender. In recent years we have noticed that the three levels are eager to use this opportunity.

The public sector is by far the largest client of the construction sector in Switzerland, which accounts for around half of the order volume in the main construction trade. It has an important role model function provided that it increasingly orders recycling material. With the new procurement law that came into force on January 1, 2021, quality and sustainability should become more important. By also introducing recycled material within submissions in the tendering for construction, builders make an effective and concrete contribution[22] .

Mid 2021,?real-estate operator Befimmo presented its ZIN real estate project, which will be located in the northern district of Brussels, and poured “circular concrete”, concrete made from old buildings’ rubble. In this case, it is the towers WTC 1 & 2 that will rise again from their own “ashes”. Befimmo ensures the reuse of 65% of these old buildings, of which only the elevator shafts are still standing today. It all started when the Government of Flanders, the North part of Belgium, issued in 2017 a call for tenders for a real estate project with very high sustainable criteria. Befimmo developed for this purpose its ZIN project, in partnership, and it went further than what it hoped.[23]

Introduce circularity in its own property

The government can re-use the sites they own in the context of the circular economy. This is what happened in Antwerp, for example, where the grounds and buildings of the former General Motors (Opel) factories are being returned to the market for green chemistry. This is no coincidence because Antwerp has the second largest concentration of traditional chemical plants in the world after Houston, Texas and also wishes to play a pioneering role there. The ambition of the Port of Antwerp authorities was to turn the former General Motors site into a ‘testing ground for sustainable chemistry’. In 2020 and 2021, the port authority launched market consultations to attract suitable candidates. Two companies have already emerged from those surveys. [24]

Moral persuasion

In addition to government institutes that try to coordinate matters across the country, I also want to pay attention to regional and even urban initiatives. The role of the regional and local government is mainly to stimulate and coordinate. Cities and towns have limited budgets, but governors and mayors often have a lot of moral persuasion power.

Regions driven by their desire to adopt a circular economy and the employment associated with it can therefore try to morally support the financing of start-ups by convincing venture capitalists of the value of circular economy. The land of Baden-Württemberg, traditionally one of the most prosperous l?nder in Germany, is presently administrated by a coalition of Christian Democrats and Greens. The latter are doing everything possible to have start-ups in their region supported by venture capital companies. Start-ups depend on investors because they don't initially make any profits. Funds and large companies invest capital in young companies in the hope that their business ideas will prevail. According to a recently published study, start-ups in Baden-Württemberg raised significantly more money in 2021: they received 599 (previous year: 155) million euros in venture capital from investors. In Germany it was almost 17.4 billion euros in total - more than three times as much as in the Corona crisis year 2020 (5.3 billion), reported the consulting company EY.[25]

Innovation is the main driver of liveable circular economy

Today, multinational organizations with increasingly complex supply chains and processes can struggle to maintain a pulse on ever-advancing circular innovation, while at times they can also lack the capabilities required to embrace new modes of operation in the transition to circular business. By contrast, start-up entrepreneurs create the disruptive solutions to solve these challenges, but may lack the capital, resources or enabling networks to replicate and scale their solutions at pace. It is therefore important to connect multinational actors with disruptive players, stakeholders across the value chain are empowered to fully embrace innovation, to prioritize targeted business models for impact, and respond effectively to new global challenges.

And indeed we see true innovators receiving an early support from structural investors in many domains. This trend increased during the COVID period. The Covid-19 crisis showed indeed how vulnerable our economic model is to shocks. That model is based on large amounts of cheap, easily accessible materials and energy. However, the old linear system with its long and complex supply chains has been thoroughly disrupted by the pandemic. This resulted in major delays, shortages of materials and products and significant price increases. Since 2018 we have seen a special turnaround and we have recorded capital raising rounds at companies with promising circular economy projects.?

It is always interesting to see how venture capitalists from Nordic countries act, because they are the most convinced of the potential the circular economy includes. Nordic Capital announced in March 2021 an agreement to acquire Sortera, a fast-growing Nordic environmental contractor in the collection, recycling, processing and brokerage of residual products from the construction and civil engineering sector.

?Sortera’s customers are mainly small and medium-sized companies in Sweden and Finland and the business is divided into three business areas: Recycling (construction recycling services), Materials (complete solutions for waste and water) and Industry (Industrial removal of materials and liquids).[26]

We would like to refer also to the Norwegian start-up Kenobi that has found a method to produce wood for buildings from conifers by reinforcing that type of soft wood available in Scandinavia.

CNBC Business has listed Kebony,?Norwegian start-up as one of Europe’s 25 most creative companies. Two companies have put 30 million[27] into Kebony. In doing so, the company mainly wants to become better known and attract new customers all over the world. In the first half of 2021, the company achieved sales that were 23 percent higher than the year before, which makes it seem like they have found a gap in the market.[28]

A vigorous rebound in economic activity (after the cold snap of the COVID19 pandemic), interest rates being still very low, investors looking for profitable investments… There is no shortage of factors to explain the attention of venture capitalists for start-ups in recent months.

It was May 2021 that the largest operation was carried out (period September 2020 to July 2021): it concerns the raising of 2.3 billion euros by Northvolt, a Swedish manufacturer of batteries for electric vehicles. An operation carried out by several Swedish pension funds, Goldman Sachs and Volkswagen[29] .

In Spain on the other hand the multinational insurance company Sanitas[30] and the insurer's parent company, Bupa, that stimulates start-ups in the circular economy, rewarded in the beginning of 2022 Circoolar, a Spanish start-up that, with just two years of existence, is opening a niche in the textile business, from an "ethical, ecological and circular" approach and provided them with an injection of 200,000 pounds (240,000 euros). Moreover they commissioned the start-up to produce Sanitas uniforms in Spain. [31]

The Québec-based Loop Industries is an environmentally responsible manufacturer of PTA (Purified Terephthalic Acid) and EG (Ethylene Glycol). The Company has created a process that decouples plastic from fossil fuels, breaking down waste PET plastic to its base building blocks. These are combined to create virgin-quality PET plastic that can be used in for food-grade plastic packaging[32] . It successful achievements caught the eye of players on other continents.

South Korea’s SK Global Chemical has bought a 10-per-cent stake in Quebec-based Loop Industries Inc. for $56.5-million, and the two plan to form a joint venture to deploy Loop’s proprietary plastic recycling technology in Asia.[33] The same Loop Industries will invest 250 million in a French factory, in association with the part of Suez that has not been absorbed by its rival Veolia. The factory will employ 180 people and produce 70,000 tonnes of virgin resin in Port-Jér?me, on the Seine, a crucible of French chemistry[34] .

Another source of growth born from the emergence of a new generation of consumers who are part of a collaborative economy is the second-hand market. There are already several platforms that focus on allowing existing clothing to be reused by new consumers. The Lithuanian-Dutch platform Vinted has become a well-known brand. Another Lithuanian initiative Think Twice, that works with stores is also an excellent illustration. Its first Belgian branch was opened in 2007, now there are ten. Their growing success is undeniable. This growth also translates into employment. Think Twice now employs 65 people in Belgium.[35]

Though a step in the circular direction, facilitating second-hand sales is not the same as buying back directly. Until recently, traditional retail has been resistant to enter the resale market because it ostensibly steals sales from the primary market. As brands see that strong resale values actually drive sales of first-hand, or new goods (as, for instance, luxury consignment website TheRealReal[36] experienced when they partnered with Burberry to encourage consignment) the hostility has thawed. Indeed, if brands want to foster a following and develop a base of loyal customers, embracing the second-hand economy will be essential.

We are in the early stages of a radical transformation in retail. The resale disruptors who have positioned themselves as conscious alternatives to vapid consumption have turned circularity into a major consideration for shoppers and their primary purchases.

Greenwashing: the caveat on the road to circular economy

Marketers discovered very early on that part of the public yearned for living in a healthier environment, to fight against climate change, to fight the plastic pollution of the oceans, to be closer to nature and to understand that every part of nature has its role to play.

They tried to make it clear to their bosses within the big companies that a market was emerging that certainly saw these arguments as a purchase argument, provided that they were correctly responded to. The company executive officers, on the other hand, understood that this would cost them money if they really had to invest and were not yet convinced that these trends would continue. Their shareholders, who have already seen their dividend fall, were of the same opinion. So the companies embarked on a discourse that emphasized respect for nature and the fight against global warming, without, however, offering lasting results.

Large fashion chains but also distributors and shoe producers are in the picture and declared guilty of this.

The last in line to crawl in the dust was the American sports shoe producer Nike, where German investigative journalists found tossed thousands of returned sneakers through the shredder. A team of German investigative journalists placed GPS trackers in Nike sneakers to see if they were recycled as promised. In doing so, they found out that tens of thousands of seemingly new shoes are simply destroyed. Separation of parts – important for recycling – seemed out of the question. The shoes were destroyed entirely: only the filling paper was manually removed beforehand. In the factory, German journalists also filmed workers pushing apparently new Nike sneakers into the shredders.[37]

Large NGOs and quality newspapers make it a point to harass and even sue these companies. Their attacks tarnish not only the sinners in question, but all companies also those that are effectively targeting the transition from linear to circular economy. Business groups are therefore vigorously opposing this type of marketing. In the southern region of Belgium, Wallonia, the employers’ representatives organised in the Union wallonne des Entreprises (UWE) declared recently in the press that greenwashing is no longer an option. UWE wishes to make a long-term commitment to the promotion and practical implementation of the 17 sustainable development goals of the UN within companies.[38]

Circular economy as a future international model

Circular companies tend to be more resilient because they are less dependent on very long supply chains and have lower material consumption. Moreover, a circular company is closer to the customers, but also to the other companies it works with. The movement can be considered as a global: groups of countries like the EU and many big countries in the Far East organise this trend on a governmental level or within a corporate consensus.

In the 1990s, Chinese scholars proposed a circular economy as a new model to help China make better use of resources and energy. Since then, the model has become an integral part of the national economic strategy, and has been built upon throughout the last three Five Year Plans. Today, there are four main components to China’s circular economy strategy: (1) Circular production — to embed reduce, reuse and recycling into whole production processes; (2) Circular systems of industry, agriculture and services — to follow the principle of optimising industrial processes, greatly supporting circular production;(3) Growth of recycling industry — to recycle and reuse urban waste streams, focusing on remanufacture and renewable energy; (4) Green consumption (‘circular values’) — to guide citizens towards smart, healthy and safe consumption. [39]

Taiwan is one of those countries with no minerals and with a strong industry directed on export. They have already a strong commitment to the circular economy and focus on several industries: agro-food and biomass, construction, electronic and chemistry, plastics, textiles and transportation. Within the methodologies to apply and introduce the circular economy in their system they make a distinction between high-value utilisation, product as a service and systems partnerships. The technical cycle of circular economy distinguishes several methods: material sourcing, process optimisation, product design, recycle, refurbish/remanufacture, repair/reuse, separation/collection.[40] Hundreds of examples are already available: it shows the country is really dedicated to the process.

(South) Korea is a country of large conglomerates that closely monitor market trends and, if necessary, link up with the inventive players in the rest of the OECD. The conglomerates have a lot of industrial influence on the rest of Asia, especially the ASEAN countries with which Korea is linked. The fact that the Korean conglomerates are paying so much attention to circular economy initiatives is a strong indication that they are convinced that this is the way forward. A striking example is from Hyundai.

Hyundai Engineering Co., part of the South Korean car manufacturer, is investing almost 300 million euros in a factory that produces clean hydrogen from plastic waste. The company wants to capture and store the CO2 released during the process. It expects its first production in mid-2022. The factory will be built in Dangjin, about 120 kilometers south of Seoul. Hyundai expects the plant to be fully operational in 2024. The factory will then have to process 100,000 tons of plastic every year, good for 22,000 tons of hydrogen. According to the company, this is equivalent to the annual energy requirement of 150,000 hydrogen cars[41] .

Japan -like Korea- has business conglomerates that follow the market very well. Although the idea of 3R - a combination of the first three letters of a word: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle- was originated in Japan already in 2005 as a the proper management of waste, Japanese are rarely deep green. Japanese are pragmatic: they bow when they notice that the wind is getting too strong. Japanese car and parts makers are working to develop more sustainable batteries for electric vehicles, part of efforts to reduce total carbon emissions, trace the lifetime of their products and cope with tighter global regulations. And while in recent years, most Japanese carmakers have turned to hydrogen as the fuel of the future, by 2025, electric cars designed and built by a joint venture of Japanese multinationals Sony and Honda should roll off the production line.[42] In the same time the industry works to lessen negative impact of everything from mining to recycling.[43] Efforts for a circular economy are gaining traction in the global fashion industry.

In Japan last year, Fast Retailing's Uniqlo put polo shirts made of recycled polyester on store shelves, but items using renewable materials that debuted in June sold for about 1,000 yen more than conventional clothes. The costs associated with recycled clothing remain a challenge. Japanese department store operator Takashimaya will team with 15 fashion brands to recycle used clothes to make brand-new apparel as it doubles down on sustainability efforts.

Down Under, Australia, is an Anglo-Saxon country that, unlike the US, has embraced the principle of the circular economy since a couple years. Australia’s ban on waste exports commenced on January 1, 2021, marking a milestone in the progression towards a circular economy and the responsible management of its waste resources. Looking beyond the country’s exported waste, the country detected an even more significant onshore opportunity for materials recovery and emissions reduction that is five times the size of the waste export market: the 20 million tonnes of materials that go to landfill every year in Australia. Australia is a country with many mineral resources that it also exploits. On the other hand, it realizes that these are finite and that they must be used as efficiently as possible.

Closing remarks

This article refers to a global movement that has been speeded up by COVID. It is disruptive, because it breaks with a rewarding economic system that has been developed after the second world war and that created gigantic wealth for one percent of world population, but also a middle class in many developing countries. But it has been also an economic system that is considered nowadays as the cause of many ecological problems, pollution and climate changes. And although those who benefited most of it are reluctant to let the system go, more and more citizens worldwide have been able to convince their authorities that this system is no longer sustainable and that measures have to be taken to shift the entire economy into a less destructive economic system that not only takes growth and profit into consideration but also ecological and social boundaries. In the eyes of many citizens as well as existing companies this vision is disruptive. And disruption is not always considered as the right way to take. But more and more people, entrepreneurs and politicians are convinced that this disruptive future is the only one that will enable us to cope with major problems for the future generation such as climate change, inequality and pollution.

All aspects of this topic and its state of affairs have been treated in a book I published recently with Lambert Academic Publishing and that is available. [44]

Summary

Originating a “cradle-to-cradle”, a movement of idealists wanted to end the disposable economy that resulted from the globalisation of the economy since the Second World War. The principles of the movement turned into a circular economy that has in recent years become a direction in which the young generations recognize themselves worldwide and is picked up by many politicians as the only direction to keep the planet liveable.

The continuous extraction of raw materials and the constant production of new food crops, industrial crops, animals, objects and machines have undeniable consequences for CO2 emissions due to a high consumption of energy and to the long transport periods that the extracted goods undergo. On the other hand, those consumed goods thrown away by consumers again have undeniable consequences for the pollution of soil and groundwater, rivers and finally the oceans. The consideration, especially among the young generation, has therefore grown that human activity on planet Earth cannot continue like this and that drastic changes in human behaviour, consumption and corporate responsibility must be made.

These new sensitivities have their origins in many places of the globe: as well in Europe, Canada, the progressive states of the US as in the Far East. Two target groups are bound to be reached: both the consumer, who must be driven in the direction of preventing waste and managing waste so that it becomes a raw material again, and the companies that need to reconsider their entire production process and treat waste as a new material.

This is a disruptive concept, there is no doubt about it. All the more so because the global transportation of waste is increasingly coming to an end. China ended imports of waste from abroad in 2018, because much of that waste had to be reprocessed there. Latin American and African countries where waste has been shamelessly dumped from North America and Europe are also closing their borders because they do not have the resources to process it and because this waste is often toxic and polluting. But it is a disruptive concept that is constructive and that can as well have positive consequences for the climate as for local employment.

Louis Delcart, board member European Academy of the Regions, www.ear-aer.eu

[1] Ecological Footprint and Biocapacity Accounting – What It Does; https://oneplanetalliance.org/ecological-footprint/

[2] National Footprint and Biocapacity Accounts 2021 Public Data Package; https://www.footprintnetwork.org/licenses/public-data-package-free/

[3] Chen Demin, “The Essence of a Recycling Economy: Circular Utilization of Resources”, Chinese Journal of Population Resources and Environment, (2004), 2:1, p.20

[4] Julio Nú?ez , “Cuando lo que hacían tus abuelos era la base de la economía circular”(When what your grandparents did was the basis of the circular economy), El Pais, 18-03-2021

[5] Rianne Lachmeijer, “Dit zijn de 6 beste circulaire bedrijven van 2022” (These are the 6 best circular companies of 2022 in the Netherlands), Change Inc, 5-02-2022

[6] M.A., “El envaso eterno existe” ( Eternal packaging exists), El País, 30-09-2021

[7] Teun Schr?der, “Gerecyclede lithium batterijen doen het net zo goed als nieuwe batterijen” (Recycled lithium batteries perform just as well as new batteries), Change Inc, 21-10-2021

[8] Romy de Weert, “Afvalbedrijf bouwt recyclemachine voor batterijen elektrische auto's” ( Waste company builds recycling machine for electric car batteries) Change Inc, 12-1-2022

[9] Guy Scriven, “The great disrupter”, The Economist Today, 17-09-2020

[10] Sabine Sluijters, “Klimaatmaatregelen China bedreigen aanvoer zonnepanelen Europa”(Climate measures in China threaten supply of solar panels to Europe), Change Inc, 04-10-2021

[11] Fost Plus is an initiative of the Belgian private sector that promotes, coordinates and finances the selective collection, sorting and recycling of household packaging waste. The company is self-financed by its members: companies that produce and sell packaging such as Unilever, Danone and Colruyt. Fost Plus was founded in 1994 as a voluntary private sector initiative. Shortly afterwards, the selective collection of household packaging waste was introduced in Belgium.

[12] Bart De bruyn, “Gerecycleerde botervlootjes waken over luchtkwaliteit in klassen”(Recycled buttercups monitor air quality in classrooms), Made in Antwerpen, 10-01-2022

[13] Kelly Clarke, “Meet the Dubai company turning discarded plastic bottles into T-shirts”, The National News, 1-2-2022

[14] In 1990, Interreg was developed as a Community Initiative in with a budget of just EUR 1 billion covering exclusively cross-border cooperation. Over the years, Interreg has become the key instrument of the European Union to support cooperation between partners across borders. The aim: to tackle common challenges together and find shared solutions - whether in the field of health, research and education, transport or sustainable energy.

[15] Citizen involvement in circular economy implementation, https://www.interregeurope.eu/ceci/

[16] Ruslan Nerca?, “E-de?eurile, o bomb? ecologic?… Cum sc?p?m de aparatele electronice vechi” (E-waste, an ecological bomb … How to get rid of old electronic devices?), Moldcontrol, 22.12.2020 ,

[17] Ammar Kalia, “Eskilstuna: how a Swedish town became the world capital of recycling”, The Guardian, 19-06-2019

[18] Learning Hub, https://archive.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/explore

[19] BpiFrance,???Les fonderies Bouhyer : entre traditions et innovations??( Bouhyer foundries: between traditions and innovations), France-Ouest, 05/10/21

[20] Muryel Jacque, “Plastique, vêtements, recyclage : tout ce qui change en 2022 pour lutter contre le gaspillage”(Plastic, clothing, recycling: everything that will change in 2022 in France in the framework of the fight against waste), Les Echos, 30-12-2021

[21] André Thomas, ??Le recyclage des plastiques progresse en France?? (Plastic recycling is progressing in France), France-Ouest, 27-01-2022

[22] Patric Van der Haegen, ??Kreislaufwirtschaft: Gemeinsam nachhaltiger bauen?? (Circular economy in Switzerland: building more sustainably together), Presse blog, 13-04-2021?; https://www.presse-blog.com/2021/04/13/kreislaufwirtschaft-gemeinsam-nachhaltiger-bauen/

[23] Antonin Marsac, ??Du “béton circulaire” pour réduire les émissions de CO2 du secteur de la construction (et oublier un fiasco du passé à Bruxelles)?? (“Circular concrete” to reduce CO2 emissions in the construction sector), La Libre Belgique, 12-06-21

[24] Pascal Sertyn, “Proeftuin duurzame chemie in Antwerpse haven gaat van start” (Sustainable chemistry pilot project opens in the port of Antwerp), De Standaard, 14-01-2022

[25] dpa-Newskanal, “Grüne sehen Wirtschaftsministerium bei Start-ups in Pflicht” (Greens see the Ministry of Economics as a duty for start-ups), Süddeutsche Zeitung, 28-01-2022

[26] “Nordic Capital f?rv?rvar tillv?xtf?retaget Sortera med m?let att bli st?rst i Norden inom milj?v?nlig ?tervinning” (Nordic Capital acquires growth company Sortera with the goal of becoming the largest in the Nordic region in environmentally friendly recycling), Nordic Capital, 08-03-2021; https://www.nordiccapital.com/aktuellt/nordic-capital-foervaervar-tillvaextfoeretaget-sortera-med-maalet-att-bli-stoerst-i-norden-inom-miljoevaenlig-aatervinning/

[27] Kebony’s EUR 30 million financing round was led by Jolt Capital and Lightrock, who will join longstanding Kebony shareholders such as Goran, MVP, FPIM, PMV and Investinor, of which the latter two will remain represented on the Board of Directors. The capital injection will expand and accelerate Kebony’s growth initiatives in core markets in Europe and the US. The funding will enable Kebony to further penetrate a EUR 3 billion market, and leverage the underlying megatrends of producing sustainable materials for the residential and non-residential construction industries.

[28] Marc Seijlhouwer,” Nieuwe techniek uit Noorwegen zorgt ervoor dat we het regenwoud niet hoeven te kappen voor hout” (New technology from Norway ensures that we don’t have to cut down the rainforest for wood), Change Inc, 04 -11- 2021

[29] Pierre-Fran?ois Lovens?: ??Levées de fonds pour les start-up européennes : voici le classement des pays qui attirent le plus d’investisseurs?? ( Fundraising for European start-ups: here is the ranking of the countries that attract the most investors), La Libre Belgique ,25-19-2021?

[30] Sanitas is an insurance company and provider of health and wellness services of Spanish origin. Founded in 1954 by a group of Spanish doctors, it had a solid expansion from 1960. In 1989 it became part of the British United Provident Association (BUPA), an international medical care group, with its origins and its headquartered in the UK ?

[31] Inma Moscardo,?“Circoolar transforma el plástico en ropa de trabajo” (Circoolar transforms plastic into work clothes),?El País, 14-1-2022

[32] https://www.loopindustries.com/en

[33] Jeffrey Jones, “South Korean firm partners with Quebec’s Loop Industries to deploy recycling technology in Asia”, The Globe and Mail, 23-06-2021;

[34] André Thomas, ??Le recyclage des plastiques progresse en France?? (Plastic recycling is progressing in France), France-Ouest, 27-01-2022

[35] Korneel Delbeke: “Tweedehands, goed voor het klimaat en de tewerkstelling” (Second-hand, good for climate and employment), De Standaard, 4-05-2021

[36] The RealReal, Inc. is an online and brick-and-mortar marketplace for authenticated luxury consignment.[2] Based on the circular economy, The RealReal sells consigned clothing, fine jewelry, watches, fine art and home decor. It employs an in-house staff of experts including horologists, gemologists, art curators and luxury fashion authenticators who inspect items for authenticity and value.?

[37] Nico Tanghe, “Nike versnippert splinternieuwe sneakers in Vlaamse fabriek” (American sport equipment company shreds brand new sneakers in Belgian factory), De Standaard, 16-11-2021

[38] Antonin Marsac, “Le greenwashing n'est plus une option”: l'UWE réunit la Reine Mathilde et les entreprises pour aller plus loin dans le développement durable?? (Greenwashing is no longer an option), La Libre Belgique, 22/6/2021

[39] Nick Jeffries, “Circular economy in China: six examples”, in: CirculateNews, 16-07-2018

[40] www.circular-taiwan.org/en/practice/case

[41] Teun Schr?der, “Hyundai investeert miljoenen om waterstof van plastic afval te maken” (Hyundai invests millions to make hydrogen from plastic waste), Change Inc, 22-12-2021

[42] Johan Raskin, “Sony en Honda bundelen krachten om elektrische wagens te bouwen” (Sony and Honda join forces to build electric cars), De Standaard, 5-03-2022

[43] Eri Sugiura, “Nissan, Denso and Bosch showcase more sustainable batteries”, Nikkei Asia, 22-10-2021

[44] Louis Delcart, “Towards a circular economy. The great experiences book”, Lambert Academic Publishing, 18-02-22, Chisinau, ISBN-13:978-620-4-74455-1; ISBN-10:6204744550; EAN:9786204744551; https://www.morebooks.shop/bookprice_offer_631829a6b5bd410260cef49c608089e18b16892e?locale=gb&currency=EUR