香港六合彩

The report, , draws attention to the weight of relevant expertise found in the field of industrial ecology, a discipline that has been focusing on the minimisation of waste, predicting the impacts of new products, and designing environmentally friendly systems for decades.听

The circular economy is听a model of production and consumption, which keeps products and materials in use. All forms of waste, including textiles, old electronics and scrap metal would be returned to the economy, or used more efficiently, extending the life cycle of products and reducing the impact on the environment. This contrasts with the current globalised 鈥榣inear鈥� economy in which we extract resources, manufacture products, use them, and then throw them away.听

It鈥檚 the first time these researchers 鈥� from the UK, the European Union, China and the US 鈥� have produced a guide, which sets out principles that are essential for policymakers and industry if the circular economy isn鈥檛 to end up as meaningless hype 鈥� or worse, dismissed as 鈥榞reenwashing鈥�.

Dr Stijn van Ewijk (香港六合彩 Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering), the lead author of the white paper, said: 鈥淭he circular economy is seen as new, but we鈥檝e been studying sustainability and what has been called an 鈥榠ndustrial ecology system鈥� for decades. Industrial ecology is about measuring and reducing environmental impacts from the use of energy and materials. So there鈥檚 huge expertise in this field, whether it鈥檚 the ability to do systems analyses, assess product life cycles, or plan circular economy systems.鈥�

One of the key insights in the report is a recommendation for a life cycle perspective that includes all impacts from raw material extraction to end-of-life waste 鈥� to ensure a potential answer to a problem doesn鈥檛 simply end up creating a problem elsewhere. For example, reusable cups were adopted by fast food companies as an answer to disposable takeaway cups. But Dr Van Ewijk says: 鈥淩euse is often better, but it depends on the type of cup and how often you use it. Many people now have many reusable cups at home and don鈥檛 regularly reuse them, which only increases overall emissions.鈥�

A further insight from the report highlights that early, whole-system intervention will prevent waste. The group calls for policymakers and industry to look ahead and design systems that are more efficient and long lasting, rather than trying to tweak current systems to minimise impacts. One example could be electric cars 鈥� seen by some as a solution to fossil fuel pollution, they also reinforce the existing problem of more cars on the road, rather than reducing them in favour of better-designed public transport. Dr van Ewijk suggests: 鈥淲e need to rethink mobility from a systems perspective. Electric cars solve the problem of fossil fuel cars, but not the problem of cars.鈥�

The group says they do not have all the answers, but emphasise the need for a scientific approach to the circular economy. 鈥淥n a purely practical level, we want to urge political leaders and companies to work with industrial ecologists to get the right evidence to develop new policies. If the evidence is already out there, we probably have access to it and know how to interpret it. If not, we can look for the answers by using tried and tested methods. Industrial ecology can鈥檛 predict the future, but our forward-looking assessment methods help anticipate the environmental benefits of new technologies and practices鈥�, says Dr Van Ewijk.

Stefanie Hellweg, former President of the International Society for Industrial Ecology and a Professor of Ecological Systems Design at ETH Zurich, says: 鈥淥ptimising materials and minimising waste have been core topics in the field of industrial ecology since the early 1990s. We have tools for modelling material stocks and flows; we can identify opportunities to use waste material from one industry in another; we support environment-focused design; and we can provide methods for assessing impacts throughout the life cycle of products. I hope this paper will inspire future discussions between scientists, policymakers and industry, and draw attention to the expertise that already exists and can be tapped.鈥�

尝颈苍办蝉听

• Dr Stijn van Ewijk's academic profile
• 香港六合彩 Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering
• 香港六合彩 Faculty of Engineering

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PET plastic bottles stacked. Credit:听/iStock

Media contact听

Dr Matt Midgley

E: m.midgley [at] ucl.ac.uk