Speakers including Resource Minister Lord de Mauley considered the notion of the ‘circular economy’ at the first day of the CIWM Conference yesterday (11June).

Circular economy has new ‘rhetorical momentum’

Professor Paul Ekins, Director of the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources, provided the day’s opening keynote speech, noting that the concept of the circular economy has new “rhetorical momentum”, but is not new: academics and other commentators (including himself) have long highlighted the need to move to a model where the economic outcome is not the only priority. He praised efforts that have been made within the industry in the last couple of decades, with particular reference to Scotland, saying that “achieving zero waste is no longer just an academic rhetoric as perhaps it was 20 years ago; it can now be seen as a realistic ambition”. He also said that pay as you throw remains, in his opinion, the most direct route to push progress on waste prevention.

It’s time for a ‘mindset change’

The conference’s opening ‘Question Time’-style debate, chaired by ESA chairman David Palmer-Jones, went on to discuss the ‘essential building blocks’ that will be required to build a viable circular economy. Palmer-Jones said that the circular economy is now impossible to ignore, adding: “we can no longer design products without first thinking of the way they can be dismantled”.

Sally Uren, Deputy CEO of the Forum for the Future, said that one of the main challenges ahead will be the implementation of a “clear and robust sustainability framework, so as to avoid unexpected consequences in the future”. She also highlighted the need to understand material stops and flows in the economy as well as nature’s limitations.

Amidst all the talk of the circular economy, Stuart Greig, head of zero waste policy at the Scottish Government, noted that we “are at risk of drowning ourselves in rhetoric”, and that actual action is now required. He noted as “strange” the fact that the ESA “put waste management at the centre of the circular economy” in its recently-released report ‘Going for Growth: A Practical Guide to the Circular Economy’, saying that he thinks instead it should be businesses/manufacturers at the centre as “it all depends on what they do”. He concluded: “We need a mindset change – just calling waste a resource and treating it just the same is not a mindset change.”

Asked whether there is a role for the traditional waste management industry in the coming ‘circular economy’, Uren responded: “Probaby not”, indicating it’s time for the industry to shift to being stewards of resources.

Producer responsibility’s ‘flies are undone’

A session focusing on the future of producer responsibility legislation again touched upon the concept of circularity. Director of 360 Environmental Ltd Phil Conran analysed the performance to date of producer responsibility legislation, noting that the EU sees such legislation as the most important driver in bringing about circularity through changes in design. Conran said that while it has driven positive change in some areas it is not a perfect instrument and there is “little evidence that there has been much change in environmental design”. With a colourful metaphor, he claimed that “producer responsibility is broadly clothed, but its flies are undone”.

We need ‘to improve our understanding’ of waste prevention

Opening the afternoon session, Lord de Mauley claimed that his long-term vision involves “using fewer resources, but creating more goods”. He also outlined his ambitions for the future of waste and recycling, saying: “We all need to improve our understanding of how to prevent waste, and the recent call for evidence should help us greatly with that. We must also help the public to maximise reuse and recycling, and ensure that avoiding contamination is much easier.”

He also responded to the day’s circular economy theme, saying: “I believe there is a real opportunity to drive growth and improve the environment in a more circular economy. Everyone – governments, industry, communities and civil society organisations – has a stake in making this happen and I am confident that people want to do the right thing. It is a question of making it easy for them, and of setting the conditions to allow the market, businesses and people to effect the change necessary.”

Day two of the conference today (12 June) will see Shadow Secretary of State Mary Creagh speaking, as well as sessions on energy, public perception and communications, and the future waste policy landscape.

Read more about the CIWM Conference.