scholarly journals How to Reach a Safe Circular Economy?—Perspectives on Reconciling the Waste, Product and Chemicals Regulation

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joonas Alaranta ◽  
Topi Turunen
Keyword(s):  
Circular Economy ◽  
Material Flow ◽  
Waste Product ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Costs And Benefits ◽  
Toxic Material ◽  
Chemicals Regulation ◽  
Material Circulation ◽  
Regulatory Actions ◽  
Secondary Materials

Abstract This article discusses the regulation of ‘substances of concern’ in the circular economy (CE) in the European Union (EU). It analyses the tensions and obstacles that the present sectoral separation of waste, product and chemicals legislation sets for the development of the CE. We argue that in a longer term perspective the aim should be to erase the border between waste and chemicals regulation and create a single regime for the regulation of materials and their flow. However, the eventual aim of such non-toxic material circulation can be achieved only via precautious transitional measures that outweigh the costs and benefits of each material flow and set restrictions for the particular substances of concern. Regulatory actions addressing the risks posed by the substances of concern in the waste-based material flows are urgently needed. New measures are necessary to protect human health and the environment and to support the development of the markets for the secondary materials.

scholarly journals Modeling the Circular Economy Processes at the EU Level Using an Evaluation Algorithm Based on Shannon Entropy

Processes ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (11) ◽  
pp. 225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristian Busu ◽  
Mihail Busu
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Shannon Entropy ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Second Law Of Thermodynamics ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Composite Indicator ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Scale Reduction ◽  
Evaluation Algorithm ◽  
Material Circulation

In this paper we propose a methodology to study circular economy processes based on mathematical modelling. In open-ended systems, waste could be converted back to recycling, transforming the economy from linear to circular. The concept of entropy and the second law of thermodynamics give the argument for a scale reduction of material circulation. As humans extract more and more energy and matter for the economy, the degree of entropy is likely to increase. Based on the findings of economic studies on the implications of industrialization in the case of growing economies, this study aims at evaluating circular economy processes at the European Union (EU) level using a Shannon-Entropy-based algorithm. An entropy-based analysis was conducted for the 28 European Union countries during the time frame 2007–2016. The modelling process consists of constructing a composite indicator which is composed of a weighted sum of all indicators developed by an algorithm based on Shannon Entropy. The weights assigned to each indicator in our analysis measure the significance of each indicator involved in the development of the composite indicator. The results are similar to the international rakings, consolidating and confirming the accuracy and reliability of this approach.

European experience in transition to circular economy

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 598-617 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.V. Ratner
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
National Level ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Scientific Methods ◽  
European Experience ◽  
General Scientific ◽  
The Eu

Subject. The article considers the concept of circular economy, which has originated relatively recently in the academic literature, and is now increasingly recognized in many countries at the national level. In the European Union, the transition to circular economy is viewed as an opportunity to improve competitiveness of the European Union, protect businesses from resource shortages and fluctuating prices for raw materials and supplies, and a way to increase employment and innovation. Objectives. The aim of the study is to analyze the incentives developed by the European Commission for moving to circular economy, and to assess their effectiveness on the basis of statistical analysis. Methods. I employ general scientific methods of research. Results. The analysis of the EU Action Plan for the Circular Economy enabled to conclude that the results of the recent research in circular economy barriers, eco-innovation, technology and infrastructure were successfully integrated into the framework of this document. Understanding the root causes holding back the circular economy development and the balanced combination of economic and administrative incentives strengthened the Action Plan, and it contributed to the circular economy development in the EU. Conclusions. The measures to stimulate the development of the circular economy proposed in the European Action Plan can be viewed as a prototype for designing similar strategies in other countries, including Russia. Meanwhile, a more detailed analysis of barriers to the circular economy at the level of individual countries and regions is needed.

scholarly journals Circular Bioeconomy Business Models to Overcome the Valley of Death. A Systematic Statistical Analysis of Studies and Projects in Emerging Bio-Based Technologies and Trends Linked to the SME Instrument Support

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1899
Author(s):  
Fabiana Gatto ◽  
Ilaria Re
Keyword(s):  
Circular Economy ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Future Perspective ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Strategic Orientations ◽  
Start Ups ◽  
Valley Of Death

Reducing the environmental pressure along the products life cycle, increasing efficiency in the consumption of resources and use of renewable raw materials, and shifting the economic system toward a circular and a climate-neutral model represent the heart of the current macro-trends of the European Union (EU) policy agendas. The circular economy and bioeconomy concepts introduced in the EU’s Circular Economy Action Plan and the Bioeconomy Strategy support innovation in rethinking economic systems focusing on market uptaking of greener solutions based on less-intensive resource consumption. In recent decades, industrial research has devoted enormous investments to demonstrate sustainable circular bio-based business models capable of overcoming the “Valley of Death” through alternative strategic orientations of “technological-push” and “market-pull”. The study highlights industrial research’s evolution on bio-based circular business model validation, trends, and topics with particular attention to the empowering capacity of start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to close the loops in renewable biological use and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. The research methodology involves a bibliographic search based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) approach and the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator Data Hub investigation to understand SMEs’ key success factors and start-ups of the circular bioeconomy sector. Eco and bio-based materials, nutraceuticals, and microalgae represent the most sustainable industry applications, leading to circular bioeconomy business models’ future perspective.

scholarly journals A Review of Bioplastics and Their Adoption in the Circular Economy

Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 1229
Author(s):  
Alberto Di Bartolo ◽  
Giulia Infurna ◽  
Nadka Tzankova Dintcheva
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
European Commission ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Environmental Risks ◽  
Plastic Waste ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Sustainable Society ◽  
Net Zero

The European Union is working towards the 2050 net-zero emissions goal and tackling the ever-growing environmental and sustainability crisis by implementing the European Green Deal. The shift towards a more sustainable society is intertwined with the production, use, and disposal of plastic in the European economy. Emissions generated by plastic production, plastic waste, littering and leakage in nature, insufficient recycling, are some of the issues addressed by the European Commission. Adoption of bioplastics–plastics that are biodegradable, bio-based, or both–is under assessment as one way to decouple society from the use of fossil resources, and to mitigate specific environmental risks related to plastic waste. In this work, we aim at reviewing the field of bioplastics, including standards and life cycle assessment studies, and discuss some of the challenges that can be currently identified with the adoption of these materials.

scholarly journals Towards a Circular Economy Taxation Framework: Expectations and Challenges of Implementation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonidas Milios
Keyword(s):  
Circular Economy ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Policy Instruments ◽  
Policy Instrument ◽  
Detailed Examination ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Material Resource ◽  
Waste Hierarchy ◽  
Tax Relief

AbstractThe transition to a circular economy is a complex process requiring wide multi-level and multi-stakeholder engagement and can be facilitated by appropriate policy interventions. Taking stock of the importance of a well-balanced policy mix that includes a variety of complementing policy instruments, the circular economy action plan of the European Union (COM(2020) 98 final) includes a section about “getting the economics right” in which it encourages the application of economic instruments. This contribution presents a comprehensive taxation framework, applied across the life cycle of products. The framework includes (1) a raw material resource tax, (2) reuse/repair tax relief, and (3) a waste hierarchy tax at the end of life of products. The research is based on a mixed method approach, using different sources to analyse the different measures in the framework. More mature concepts, such as material resource taxes, are analysed by reviewing the existing literature. The analysis of tax relief on repairs is based on interviews with stakeholders in Sweden, where this economic policy instrument has been implemented since 2017. Finally, for the waste hierarchy tax, which is a novel proposition in this contribution, macroeconomic modelling is used to analyse potential impacts of future implementation. In all cases, several implementation challenges are identified, and potential solutions are discussed according to literature and empirical sources. Further research is required both at the individual instrument and at the framework level. Each of the tax proposals needs a more detailed examination for its specificities of implementation, following the results of this study.

scholarly journals Towards Circular Economy—A Comparative Analysis of the Countries of the European Union

Resources ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 49
Author(s):  
Ewa Mazur-Wierzbicka
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Spatial Differentiation ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Eu Countries ◽  
Population Member ◽  
Research Population

There are many studies which implement and assess existing measurement manners and document the progress of entities towards the circular economy (CE) at various levels, or present or propose new possibilities of measurement. The majority of them refer to the micro level. The aim of this paper is to conduct a multidimensional comparative analysis of the implementation of circular economy by EU countries. After an in-depth critical analysis of the literature, CE indicators which were proposed by the European Commission were adopted as a basis. Owing to the research population-Member States of the European Union (EU-28), focusing on the said indicators was declared reasonable in all aspects. The classification of EU countries according to the level of their advancement in the concept of CE was adopted as a main research task. In order to do so, a relevant index of development of circular economy was created (IDCE). This will allow us, inter alia, to trace changes in the spatial differentiation of advancement of the EU countries in implementing CE over the years, to identify CE implementation leaders as well as countries particularly delayed in this regard. The comparative analysis was conducted by means of statistical methods. On the basis of the analyses, it was concluded that among all EU countries, those of the old EU are the most advanced in terms of CE. The analysis confirmed significant rising trends for IDCE only in the case of Belgium and The Netherlands.

scholarly journals Environmental Consequences of Closing the Textile Loop—Life Cycle Assessment of a Circular Polyester Jacket

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 2964
Author(s):  
Gregor Braun ◽  
Claudia Som ◽  
Mélanie Schmutz ◽  
Roland Hischier
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Textile Industry ◽  
System Analysis ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Environmental Consequences ◽  
Energy And Material Flows

The textile industry is recognized as being one of the most polluting industries. Thus, the European Union aims to transform the textile industry with its “European Green Deal” and “Circular Economy Action Plan”. Awareness regarding the environmental impact of textiles is increasing and initiatives are appearing to make more sustainable products with a strong wish to move towards a circular economy. One of these initiatives is wear2wearTM, a collaboration consisting of multiple companies aiming to close the loop for polyester textiles. However, designing a circular product system does not lead automatically to lower environmental impacts. Therefore, a Life Cycle Assessment study has been conducted in order to compare the environmental impacts of a circular with a linear workwear jacket. The results show that a thoughtful “circular economy system” design approach can result in significantly lower environmental impacts than linear product systems. The study illustrates at the same time the necessity for Life Cycle Assessment practitioners to go beyond a simple comparison of one product to another when it comes to circular economy. Such products require a wider system analysis approach that takes into account multiple loops, having interconnected energy and material flows through reuse, remanufacture, and various recycling practices.

scholarly journals Integration of Digital Economy and Circular Economy: Current Status and Future Directions

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 7217
Author(s):  
Zhen Liu ◽  
Jing Liu ◽  
Mohamed Osmani
Keyword(s):  
Circular Economy ◽  
Digital Technology ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Digital Economy ◽  
Research Field ◽  
Research Progress ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Disruptive Effect ◽  
The European Union

Circular economy (CE) is a concept actively advocated by the European Union (EU), China, Japan, and the United Kingdom. At present, CE is considered to grant the most traction for companies to achieve sustainable development. However, CE is still rarely adopted by enterprises. As the backbone of the fourth industrial revolution, the digital economy (DE) is considered to have a disruptive effect. Studies have shown that digital technology has great potential in promoting the development of CE. Especially during the COVID-19 epidemic that has severely negatively affected the global economy, environment, and society, CE and DE are receiving high attention from policy makers, practitioners, and scholars around the world. However, the integration of CE and digital technology is a small and rapidly developing research field that is still in its infancy. Although there is a large amount of research in the fields of CE and DE, respectively, there are few studies that look into integrating these two fields. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explore the research progress and trends of the integration of CE and DE, and provide an overview for future research. This paper adopts a bibliometric research method, employs the Web of Science database as its literature source, and uses VOSviewer visual software to carry out keyword co-occurrence analysis, which focuses on publication trends, journal sources, keyword visualization, multidisciplinary areas, life cycle stages, and application fields.

Dynamics of Regional Recycling Economy Development Based on Material Flow Analysis: A Case Study in Shandong Province

2011 ◽  
Vol 347-353 ◽  
pp. 2961-2966
Author(s):  
Dian Ming Geng ◽  
Jia Xiang Liu
Keyword(s):  
Water Supply ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Material Flow ◽  
Flow Analysis ◽  
Material Flow Analysis ◽  
Shandong Province ◽  
Utilization Efficiency ◽  
Recycling Economy ◽  
Material Input ◽  
Inputs And Outputs

In order to study the development of regional recycling economy, the material inputs and outputs of the eco-economic system in Shandong Province during the period from 1996 to 2009 were systematically analyzed by the material flow analysis(MFA). The results show that, (1)excluding water, material inputs and outputs rose persistently, but both were lower than the rate of GDP growth. (2)Water supply had a turning point in 2003, from 25.239 billion tons down to 21.934 billion tons, followed by the total annual water supply has been maintained at 220 million tons. At the same time the amount of wastewater emissions is increasing, especially domestic wastewater emissions had faster growth and that increased pressure on the regional water environment;(3) Steady increase in material input intensity, material output intensity presented a first increased and then decreased trend, that showed since Shandong Province proposed the strategic planning to develop circular economy, the development of regional circular economy have improved the material utilization efficiency and made a material reduction in output in the case of material input growth achieved. The rapid increase of material input and output efficiency further illustrated the efficiency of resource comprehensive utilization and waste output have been significantly improved.

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