Recourses without extraction, production without waste and other adventures of the European economy in the future
Despite all the criticism, the consumer society has tossed many problems of humanity into the garbage heap of history. So that the future generations don`t have to give up a life in safety and welfare, our generation has to toss the linear economy into the garbage heap of history, too. Together with the garbage heaps, by the way.
Billions of years ago, the symbiosis of biological beings made possible the emergence of multicellular organisms with complex and perfect systems of metabolism of substances and energy. This was a turning point in the evolution of species.
A similar principle of symbiosis, which is just beginning to spread in the global economy, can also fundamentally change the industry of the human world. After all, industrial enterprises, like living beings, have a metabolism. To function and grow, they consume energy and nutrients in the form of mineral recourses: metal ores and hydrocarbons, biomass and minerals. And just like organisms, they release the results of their life activities – products and waste.
Since the pre-industrial times, the economy has worked on the linear “take – produce – use – discard” principle. The total appetite of all industries didn`t exceed the amount of resources available, so everyone had enough. But after the industrial revolution, everything began to change.
Europe as the flagship of the future world
The European Union has identified the transition to the cyclical economy as a priority area for development until 2050. The purpose is to increase the competitiveness of enterprises, ensure sustainable development, enhance the efficiency of environmental management, clean the environment and achieve resource independence. Cyclical models currently used by single industry flagships should become standard practice for all market players.
To this end, the European Commission has adopted a number of documents setting out an action plan. According to it, the industry will double the reuse of materials in the production cycles over the next decade. In particular, the Circular Economy Action Plan (2020) outlines the key vectors and refers to a number of documents clarifying the priority measures of change for the most resource-intensive industries.
In the European documents, the cyclical processes are seen as a part of a large-scale transformation of the industry towards climate neutrality and competitiveness in the long term. The purpose of the Circular Economy Action Plan is to establish an industry-led reporting and certification system and to enhance the role of digital technologies for tracking, tracing and mapping of secondary resource sources. These steps will promote symbiotic cooperation among enterprises. Special attention is paid to the strategy of the development of small and medium enterprises in the conditions of creation of new links, including consultations, trainings and the use of a special knowledge center to disseminate other information necessary for effective partnership in the closed-loop economy.
The EU politicians are aware that significant evolutionary changes can be achieved if cyclical principles are extended to the global level. The Eastern European neighbours, including our country, have been recognized as one of the key partners. Collaboration with them within new operational models will open new business and employment opportunities for the EU. The mutually beneficial symbiosis of economic actors should be deepened.
In order to increase the reuse of raw materials, the European Commission is going to propose to the state bodies the procurement criteria, the minimum requirements on recycled content in the products and draft legislative changes. At the same time, a system of mandatory monitoring of the implementation of these criteria and legal changes is being introduced gradually. This system will protect enterprises from administrative pressure of the state bodies.
In Europe, the internal market of quality secondary raw materials has been operating effectively for some time. However, the introduction of cyclical principles can increase GDP and create hundreds of thousands of new jobs within ten years. And European companies, which on average spend 40% of their budget on purchasing raw materials, can increase profitability and protect themselves from price fluctuations by using closed cycles.
Why we should not waste the money
The depletion of natural reserves is not the only negative aspect of the linear economy. It also creates significant amounts of waste. According to the European Commission’s estimation, 5000 kg of waste is generated annually for each EU citizen. That is, billions of tons of extracted raw materials are turned into garbage every year, which also requires additional investments for maintenance. This is, of course, not only household waste – industrial and construction waste accounts for most of these impressive figures.
For example, the construction industry consumes about half of all the materials extracted by humanity. In the European Union, this industry generates one-third of all waste and one-tenth of greenhouse gases. If the material cycles are improved, up to 80% of what is currently being added to landfills can remain in industrial use.
It is clear that not everything will be rosy and carefree on the way to a cyclical economy. The world is only taking its first steps in this direction and is gaining new experience. It would not happen without a few mistakes and deadlocks. For industrial facilities to work in perfect symbiosis, it is necessary to solve the problem of certification of secondary raw materials for each industry, to solve the issues of quality standardization, to create a logistics system that can balance supply and demand. On the other hand, support programs for enterprises can be expected, as well as some state preferences and benefits, grants for the research and development work.
However, one thing is already clear. If mankind wants to keep living in abundance and improve the quality of life, the cyclical economy and industrial symbiosis is not an opportunity but a necessity. After all, there are no three planets Earth.