RE-CIRCLE Full Cycle Bioplastics. Step up the black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) and more KMC is headquartered in central Jutland and operates a number of production sites in Denmark, staying close to its suppliers and owners, the potato growers. This not only reduces the environmental impact from the discarded firehoses in landfill but reduces the impact of making new bags from materials such as leather. the reality is many people enjoy the convenience of grabbing a coffee or are Some of the accessories they have produced include bags created from old firehoses they saved from landfill sites. In this video I explain what we mean by circular economy, I go through all the things we can do to go from our current economy to a circular economy and I use many examples. a use for them, turning as many linear models into circular ones as possible. Other examples include sharing of office spaces, parking spaces and even appliances. Americans drinking at least one cup of coffee every day according to Reuters. A circular economy is an economic model designed to minimize resource input, as well as waste and emission production. items and creating stylish fashion accessories in the process. The technology is so effective that almost 100% of the components can be either reused or recycled. Food production creates a lot of waste, waste which is often That solution could be in the form of biodegradable coffee cups. Therefore, with this objective in mind, we are working to incorporate circular economy principles in all our processes, products and services. (Courtesy: Danish Crown), – Download our white paper on Circular Economy. This has allowed us to rapidly grow global economies and living standards….but it comes at a cost. Kalundborg Symbiosis includes world-leading as well as smaller companies, but whatever the size, the benefits of industrial symbiosis are clear: (Courtesy: Novo Nordisk, Novozymes, Statoil Refining, Gyproc, DONG Energy, KaraNoveren, Kalundborg Utility, Kalundborg Municipality and Symbiosis Center Denmark). This increases the number of people in cars and reduces the number of cars on the streets, making car trips more efficient and better for the environment. Bakeys hopes to expand their range from spoons to chopsticks, forks and knives in the near future whilst reducing the cost to make them competitive with the plastic alternatives. Production and possibilities for optimising side streams is seen across the value chain from farm level to slaughterhouse. of plastic, namely it’s durability, water tightness and the fact it won’t break (Courtesy: GoMore), 4: Recycling of artificial turf As the first in the world, Re-Match uses patented state-of-the-art technology to separate worn-out artificial turf into raw, clean components, which can then be re-used or recycled in the turf industry or in other industries. Circular economy in China: six examples. So when one cheap dress or Taking resources, making things with them and then disposing of them in various ways. Splitting and refining the side streams from potato starch production helps maximise output of each potato for the economic benefit of the potato growers, while the use of potato fibres allows the food industry to efficiently increase the nutritional value of its products. There has been a big push to get people to take their own re-usable It is a (Courtesy: RGS90, ROCKWOOL and Combineering A/S), 9: Grundfos pumps contribute to energy saving heating and cooling Pumps are one example of a type of devices used in many industrial applications. Circular Economy Examples: Reducing CO2 Emissions One thing’s for sure, circular economies can and often contribute astronomically to reducing Carbon emissions. Each Re-Match facility can handle more than 40,000 tons of worn-out wet synthetic turf yearly, generating clean separated materials, which are mainly reused in new soccer pitches worldwide. The company Bio-bean has decided to utilize this waste stream and create some useful products from it to extend the life of the coffee grounds further. Circular economy principles are therefore nothing new to Danish Crown. Solutions that help communities shift towards a more circular economy through zero waste and zero carbon, including through STEM education for new design and manufacturing techniques, are eligible for the GM Prize on Circular Economy, made … But there will always be a desire from people for the latest will increase by ten times. These resources are finite, meaning that they will eventually all run out. Some examples of creative ways to recycle or repurpose items, reduce food waste, and repair things instead of throwing them out. landfill and instead end up in the oceans. Discover our other sites An action-oriented set of methods, mindsets and thought starters to help innovators design circular solutions that are fit for the future. They aim to find waste streams from other industries and find Instead of drinking a soda at a café, going on summer holiday abroad or toasting in draught beer, the Danes moved the consumption of beverages home. I interviewed one of the two brothers who founded the The Global Ecobrick Alliance also point to other benefits of But the circle does not stop there, once the larvae have That is to say, the circular economy is not one single vertically-integrated business. On top of this, the larvae can even be consumed by humans. the impacts on the environment. Porcelain and sanitaryware are crushed before being sent to the ROCKWOOL production facility, where they are used to manufacture new, recyclable insulation. The problem is that many of those plastics don’t even reach Examples of a Circular Economy Reducing the use of non-renewable resources, reusing waste (such as raw materials), recycling, incorporating eco-design criteria to our processes and raising awareness around these issues are our top priorities. In … Probably the most well known modern example of the sharing economy is Airbnb. A 2016 Deloitte publication asserts that circular economies help cut down on Green House gas emissions by reducing energy expenditure. More than 2/3 of all pumps installed today are inefficient and use up to 60% too much energy. Check your email for a link to reset your password. Their main circular model is to utilize a waste product from the paper industry called lignin. The Uber pool allows the riders to reduce their traveling costs. This enabled the company to drastically reduce energy costs by more than 50% while also contributing towards its commitment to reduce CO2-emissions. Product life extension. Over 40 billion single-use plastic utensils are used every single year worldwide. Unlike recycling, which is a way of managing product waste, the mission of the circular economy is to build goods that last longer and eliminate waste. reuse and recycling of elements prevails: minimize production to a bare minimum The circular economy (sometimes called ‘CE’, ‘circularity’ and ‘circular thinking’) refers to an economic state where resources are kept in a continuous circle of use so that: Virgin resources are no longer extracted (e.g. One way to reduce the amount of plastics reaching the oceans or buried in landfill is to find another use for them and give them a second life. With a capacity of 1.2 MW, the plant is capable of producing approx. But the process of creating a cup of coffee is fairly wasteful. Additionally, most pumps currently installed are larger than necessary and often run continuously at their maximum speed. In the UK alone 7 million disposable coffee cups are used every day! GM Prize on Circular Economy. podcast platforms. With limited resources and a global population expected to rise to 9 billion by 2050, shifting from the linear take-make-waste economic model to an economic model where the economic value of the resources is fully utilised becomes ever more essential. too lazy to bother. Every minute the equivalent of one This is possible because the same piece of clothing will be shared by several children and the quality of the clothing is so high: The concept creates an incentive for textile companies to produce in as high a quality as possible. This San Francisco-based company is still in its early stages but is building up … The bottle will be as light as a PET bottle, while having the advantage of being created from bio-based sources. One of these uses is to create pellets for use in biomass which they claim are carbon neutral and reduces the need for imported wood. The minimal cost and the fact they are so simple to make with no need for machinery means anyone can make them and build with them. through ground coffee beans to produce the hot liquid to drink, but that leaves comes from’. But to (Courtesy: Grundfos), 10: Optimising side streams Danish Crown, one of the world’s biggest pork producers, is cooperatively owned by Danish farmers who are both our suppliers and owners. down over time. The concept recognises the importance of the economy needing to work effectively at all scales – for large and small businesses, for organisations and individuals, globally and locally. These bricks can be where we put the idea of ownership aside and therefore greatly reduce many of Financial commodities similar to fuels, electrical energy and chemical substances are more and more being produced sustainably. Strategies and examples; Strategies and examples. (Courtesy: Carlsberg Group, ecoXpac, Danish Technical University, Innovation Fund Denmark), 6: Potentials in potato starch production Danish potato processing cooperative KMC, which produces a variety of potato starch ingredients for the food industry, has been a pioneer in adding value to its side streams. Stories about the circular economy in architecture and design, including projects aiming to eliminate waste and pollution while protecting the environment. In Denmark, an average car transports 1.4 people on the road and spends about 23 hours per day taking up parking space. Since its founding, “Gamle Mursten” has expanded greatly, and is now a large-scale cleantech production company with patented cleaning technology which ensures that building waste can be reused without the use of any chemicals. In the natural world most systems function in a circular Create a partner profile on stateofgreen.com, State of Green Tours is open for visitors. Long story short, the current system is reaching its limits.Among others, the circular economy proposes a closed-loop system, circular design, and more sustainable products. The firm embraces circular economy principles by using infinitely recyclable materials, using renewable energy and cradle-to-cradle certification. The first option is the simplest and that is to buy and sell clothing large amounts of land, usually felled rainforest in the case of soy production. But not only that, they flavored with cumin (for savory dishes) and sugar (for sweet dishes) making them entirely edible once finished with. A lack of proper sewerage networks in ever expanding cities means waste can end up in rivers and streams and can end up contaminating drinking water leading to the spread of life threatening disease. material to produce. ... China and the circular economy. excrement! (Courtesy: Realdania Byg and 3XN Architects), 8: Used insulation and discarded porcelain and sanitaryware upcycled into new insulation With over 30% of Denmark’s waste coming from construction, upcycling of used building materials has become an area of increased focus. The technique makes use of the benefits So scientists have looked to biology instead. Circular economy aims to reach the maximum efficiency in the use of finite resources, the gradual transition to renewable resources, and recovery of the materials and products at the end of their useful life. throwing away last months rags and buying the next hip item for a tiny price. Recyclable ROCKWOOL insulation and ROCKFON acoustic panels are then separated from the unrecyclable insulation before being granulated. Resource efficiency is a key part of the DNA. Get involved in the Circular Economy. burned for energy. shirt is no longer cool after a few months, people have no problem with An Ecobrick is created by taking a used plastic bottle and packing Since introducing potato-based feed proteins for the agricultural sector in the 1980s, KMC has advanced and refined the residuals of potato starch production. The circular economy is part of the answer to that question. This provides more calories and reduces the plastic waste from the plastic alternative. This is made possible by the fact the cups are made from waste materials from crop production such as natural starch from corn production and fibers from sugarcane production. The best circular economy ideas are the ones that tackle multiple Additionally, for the driver, it locates … In lesser economically developed countries the issue of waste from humans and animals is still an everyday problem. that we are all obsessed with ownership. Circular Economy in India – Importance with Example January 10, 2021 by Uma Sathwika Manda In layman’s terms, a circular economy ensures the generation of waste is at the minimum possible rather than taking the resources, making the products we need, using them, and discarding them as is done in a linear economy. This is where the term ‘circular economy We facilitate relations with international stakeholders and are your one-point entry to all leading Danish players working to drive the global transition to a sustainable, low-carbon, resource-efficient society. Finally, it reduces the emissions of CO2 and other harmful gases from burning plastics (one ton of incinerated plastic will release 0.9 Mt of net CO2). Examples could include single-use plastic bottles that end up in a landfill site or unwanted electronics that we throw away when a new shiny model is released. One of the major causes of our linear lifestyles is the fact As a result, Grundfos’ annual energy consumption has been reduced by more than 8.000.000 kWh. (Courtesy: KMC), 7: Re-using old bricks to build a greener future The driving force behind the founding of the company “Gamle Mursten” (“Old Bricks”) was the desire to prevent resources of natural bricks from being wasted. If you are But Continuing on the theme of removing single-use plastics from the environment and preventing them from eventually ending up in the oceans are Ecobricks. Kalundborg Symbiosis started more than 40 years ago and is one of the most well-known and well-described industrial symbioses in the world. This circular For example, when a tree is harvested, four new ones are planted. One of the main sectors the biodegradable plastic is being utilized in is the horticultural industry to replace plastic ‘mulch films’ used to cover crops. The dutch company Instock have come up with a clever and nutritional use for these grains by using them to create granola. Furthermore, textile waste is reduced by 70-85%. products. Find it in the State of Green Toolbox together with loads of materials to help you promote Denmark’s green solutions abroad. An industrial symbiosis combines the logic from nature’s ecosystems with the rationales of the economic system. system has worked for millions of years. Ecobricks such as raising awareness of the scale of our plastic habit in the These larvae have an immense appetite for organic slab, reducing the need for concrete which is a famously carbon-intensive But there is no obligation to eat the cutlery. reaching landfill and to reduce the pressure caused by manufacturing new Investments in the value chain, such as breeding of animals, new effective stables, feed optimisation, recycling of nutrients, as well as improving energy and water efficiency, logistics and utilisation of side-streams, are interconnected. Everyone has a role to play in moving towards a circular economy. Circular Economy: definition & examples. A circular travel solution. 80% of the customers’ heat consumption. Instead of today’s take–make–dispose linear model of production, the circular economy is restorative by design—using and reusing natural capital as efficiently as possible and finding value throughout the life cycles of finished products. and move towards a circular model. impacts caused by growing food such as soy and corn for animals which takes cups to coffee shops, with many retailers offering a discount if they do. Depending on your role or function within your company, there are various circular practices that you can implement. clothing. used in the same way as traditional bricks to build structures but at a much Everything starts with sustainable forest management and securing the future growth of this renewable resource. install sewer systems in many of these places is simply not practical and even soil, this plant is consumed by an animal, which in turn is consumed by another Carrying on with the coffee theme and another big environmental problem that our coffee obsession has lead to is an increase in disposable plastic cups. The project is one of the activities in the Carlsberg Circular Community, which is the Carlsberg Group’s partnership platform to develop more sustainable products with partners from across the world. Products include concentrated detergent and its Ocean Plastic Bottle project, using discarded plastic from the sea to make its packaging. Case studies showing the implementation of a circular economy model and circular economy thinking. The shared economy is another beautiful faction of a circular … We have gathered 10 examples of Circular Economy solutions that through practical cases illustrate how circular business models prove to be a sound business strategy that facilitates access to new markets, drives innovative solutions and saves production costs. Cars are by far one of the most under-utilised resources in modern life. economy models is Mobius. We need a circular economy solution. But in recent years we have seen an increase in the number of sharing schemes At the Yokohama Rubber factory in Japan, Grundfos switched out the main pump delivering water to cool the factory´s production line. Water is pushed The higher the quality, the more children can make use of the same piece of clothes and the higher the profit becomes. Planes and cruise ships are popular holiday modes of... Electric scooters are becoming more and more popular among adults and all over the world, not only for enjoyment but for personal use for specific situations. lower cost as the material is free. A way is needed to stop this linear model of consumption of The circular economy is one of the biggest challenges - yet most exciting opportunities - for today's businesses. Empty car seats are the largest excess capacity in the transport industry, and this inefficiency has a negative impact on the environment and is expensive for car owners. if(typeof __ez_fad_position != 'undefined'){__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-innovate_eco_com-box-4-0')}; The idea is that you buy one t-shirt from them but this same t-shirt can be sent back and the material re-used to produce a new one at a reduced cost. (Courtesy: VIGGA), 3: A circular travel solution Cars are by far one of the most under-utilised resources in modern life. out of resources completely, we need to mirror natural processes more closely model. Circular Economy Circular business models represent fundamentally different ways of producing and consuming goods and services. Since GoMore was established in 2005, more than 1 million users have visited and used the service. Saving more than 95% of the energy otherwise used to manufacture new bricks, this method of re-using old bricks is an example of perfect circular economy passing the resources of one generation on to a new one. One of these waste products is the spent brewer’s grains, the solid However, the lignin has some valuable properties which make it great for other uses and one of those uses is a biodegradable plastic. in landfill. WharfWarp takes old lobster ropes and transforms them into gorgeous mats, wreaths, pet leashes, and other products for your home. animal feed for fish, livestock and poultry. An unappetizing proposition to many, the dried larvae are perfectly safe to be eaten and contain high levels of protein. A plant grows using energy from the sun, water and nutrients from the It is a travel solution which is cheaper for both the car owner and the passenger. They do this by combining the grains with seeds, almonds, cinnamon and honey to create what they call a breakfast for heroes…..because who doesn’t want to start the day with a beer?? This reduces the environmental 2: A circular subscription concept VIGGA was born as a circular concept. I interviewed Matt from the company in episode 3 of the podcast which you can listen to below. etc. The community aims to eliminate the concept of waste by creating sustainable products and a more circular economy in an increasingly resource-scarce world. This has lead to companies such as Rapanui, a t-shirt brand based on the Isle of Wight in the UK to produce a range of circular economy t-shirts. One company that prides itself on finding new circular The Carlsberg Group have initiated a partnership with Danish company ecoXpac, Innovation Fund Denmark and the Technical University of Denmark to develop the world’s first fully biodegradable beer bottle made from wood fibre – the Green Fiber Bottle. Inspired by a trip to India where he saw people collecting plastic waste and melting it into potholes to repair roads, Toby McCartney brought the idea back to the UK and with his co-founders refined a method of taking waste plastic and making it into plastic granules that could be used to make roads. No singular business is the circular economy. But we must accept that it is such a useful material that it will be around for a while to come. such as methane along with our other food waste. material and don’t care if that organic material happens to be human or animal They generate valuable knowledge-sharing through the value chain, ultimately benefiting the owners. But Danish company GXN teamed up with some farming partners Scottish based firm MacRebur has found a way to do this by using plastics to construct and repair roads. The idea was to create a new way of consuming, based upon sharing and circulating high-quality products. The secret behind Danish Crown is the focus not only on producing meat, but also on producing and recycling other products such as sustainable energy, fuels, feed, nutrients and inputs for the pharmaceutical industry. The fashion industry is beginning to cause many environmental problems and a big part of... 2) Animal feed from human waste. By applying its method to two thousand bricks, “Gamle Mursten” also prevents the emission of one tonne of CO2. 8,000 MWh heat annually, thereby covering approx. Here, all unwanted materials are removed. The value chain is no stronger than its weakest link, the result being today that Danish Crown represents one of the most efficient meat producers in the world. it full of other plastic materials to form a dense brick. if(typeof __ez_fad_position != 'undefined'){__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-innovate_eco_com-large-leaderboard-2-0')}; There are several companies doing this process but one is Dutch-based startup MAWA. Three major Perhaps the best thing about Ecobricks though is how it is empowering communities in poorer parts of the world. Across Grundfos’ own facilities, a flagship initiative has been running for several years now to replace all inefficient pumps and motors worldwide with high-efficiency Grundfos solutions. Realdania Byg and 3XN Architects used 300,000 old bricks making the Castle of Hindsgavl hotel (see picture), saving the environment of 150 tons CO2. After a successful performance test, which met all requirements and achieved a high COP, the system was in middle of February 2021 handed over to the client. A start-up based in the USA whose slogan is ‘there’s Due to an explosion in the electric... Hi I'm Rob. They play a vital role in dairies, breweries, slaughterhouses, textile and chemical production, power stations, shipping etc. mention is the fact the construction sits on screw piles instead of a concrete ... Circular economy examples in action; This has benefits for the environment as it reduces the number of hotels that need to be constructed and maintained. In the past non-biodegradable single-use petroleum-based plastics have been used for this purpose all of which end up in landfill or burnt. However, in more recent times, humans have developed a more linear approach to life. Are Cruise Ships More Polluting Than Planes? Innovative companies in Scotland are implementing sustainable circular economy principles within their businesses - explore examples at Zero Waste Scotland. In 2005, KMC began transforming residual potato fibres into a valuable protein-rich food additive for the food industry. It has also inspired others to produce more for less. if(typeof __ez_fad_position != 'undefined'){__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-innovate_eco_com-large-mobile-banner-1-0')}; One waste stream that we are all too familiar with these days are petroleum-based plastics. Lignin is the substance that forms the cell walls in trees and plants making them rigid and woody in structure. one ton of incinerated plastic will release 0.9 Mt of net CO, the average car spends 95% of it’s time parked, In the UK alone 7 million disposable coffee cups are used every day, Over 40 billion single-use plastic utensils are used every single year worldwide, The dutch company Instock have come up with a clever and nutritional use for these grains by using them to create granola. Rob is the head writer at Innovate Eco sharing knowledge and passion cultivated over 10 years working in the Environmental Sector. But on top of that, this linear model leads to many detrimental effects on the environment, whether that is plastics in the oceans, toxic chemicals in landfills or greenhouse gases released from burning fossil fuels. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation Corporate Citizenship Center has released a new case study report featuring examples of how companies are translating circular economy … fashion and trends and clothing does eventually wear out and become unusable. The product life extension model helps companies extend the lifecycle of … As a result, more than 300,000 seats have been sold in Denmark alone, making GoMore a European leader in combining ridesharing and peer-to-peer car rental, and Scandinavia’s leading business in the sharing economy. residue of malt left after brewing is finished. The idea is that these vegan-friendly spoons made of rice, sorghum and wheat are tough and durable enough to withstand an entire meal of hot food without falling apart. Based on this philosophy, Danish Crown demonstrates that they produce more with less, creating more value for the customers, suppliers, owners as well as society in general, the climate and environment. environmental issues at once. if(typeof __ez_fad_position != 'undefined'){__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-innovate_eco_com-medrectangle-4-0')}; It is estimated that one garbage truck full of clothes is sent to landfill or burnt every single second. If you imagine us all owning our own possessions, there are huge amounts of time where those items are sat about not being used. Although there is still some energy input in the recycling process, Rapanui use renewable energy in the factories to keep impacts as low as possible. Until recently we have not been able (or willing) to re-use The old bricks are collected, cleaned with vibration technology, manually checked one by one and finally stacked by robots before being shipped to new sites. If you look around your house virtually every modern item you see contains plastic in some form. land-use change and inputs for growing cotton, to the high energy and toxic State of Green is a not-for-profit, public-private partnership from Denmark. link to Are Cruise Ships More Polluting Than Planes? Construction waste from Danish recycling centres is delivered to RGS90, a company which specialises in the processing, sorting, removing and recycling of waste products.