Moving beyond waste and into a circular economy is one of the most pressing sustainability issues facing companies, communities, even whole cities and countries. Thinking and acting circular is now the priority of every organisation looking to be a leader in sustainability and the race to achieve this status is inspiring truly innovative thinking all around the world.
This month has seen a variety of circular economy strategies and specific innovations come to light in the Middle East and beyond. As these initiatives gain momentum, they are providing invaluable case studies for other industries and government entities to learn from and potentially imitate.
Saudi Arabia revisits Riyadh’s recycling with Eco waste approach
As part of its Saudi Vision 2030, the government is enthusiastically supporting a nationwide effort to transition to a circular economy where, traditionally, high levels of waste have been the norm. Starting from the capital outwards, Riyadh will become the testing ground for Saudi Arabia’s new approach to integrated waste management recycling.
The National Waste Management Centre, the Riyadh Municipality and the Saudi Investment Recycling Company signed a joint MoU this month which states that the organisations will collaborate to find the best and most sustainable ways to tackle both municipal and construction and demolition waste in the capital. They have some highly ambitious target figures attached to this declaration too: effective recycling of 47% of Riyadh’s construction and demolition waste (some 5 million tonnes annually) and 87% of its 3.4 million tonnes of municipal solid waste.
Key initiatives proposed as part of this huge undertaking include:
- The creation of state-of-the-art recycling facilities capable of handling all waste types.
- Effective recycling of the existing 20 million tonnes of construction and demolition waste dumped across the capital.
- Recycling of construction and demolition waste into suitable road and housing building material.
GCC construction industry considers $23 billion savings offered by circular economy methodology. While the years-long construction boom in many parts of the GCC has brought significant economic benefits, it’s also allowed for the entrenchment of unsustainable operation models as wasteful methods cut into the long-term viability of the industry.
Now, as the GCC capital construction project pipeline for the next five years approaches an estimated net worth of $5 trillion, major industry leaders are actively seeking ways to integrate sustainability into their operations and achieve a circular economy approach. Not only could this save construction firms and public sector providers an estimated $23 billion over the next decade, but it will also redress the unsustainable reality that conventional construction accounts for 35-40% of the total solid waste produced by the whole industry, with the majority of it ending up in landfill sites.
Critical changes to the construction industry’s playbook recommended by leading circular economy experts and industry analysts include:
- Mandating the use of district cooling where appropriate to gain 20-30% energy efficiency savings over even the most energy-efficient conventional cooling technology.
- Regulatory requirements to make circular economy thinking an integral and mandatory part of the design process.
- Adoption of sustainable construction methods, such as 3D-printing and modular construction, which can deliver up to 68% equipment cost savings while using 74% less material and significantly reducing construction times.
India and Genoa go green with bioplastics
Reducing crop burning is a vital waste management issue in India and a number of other countries with large agricultural sectors. Both India and Genoa-based researchers believe that a bioplastics-based approach could be an elegant long-term crop management solution, as it takes agro-waste and renders it down to a viable alternative to fossil-fuel derived plastics.
Researchers at the Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Polymers at the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, think that bioplastics could help address the ongoing issue of unmanaged agro-waste being burned, leading to significant air pollution and other sustainability issues in India. Research discussions with the Genoa-based Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) have led to increased interest in bioplastics and the creation of a widening range of biodegradable products.
While globally, bioplastics are currently estimated to only account for 1% of the 335 million tonnes of plastics produced annually, both teams think that global demand for alternatives will see the price of creating bioplastics tumble in line with growing utilisation.
Adidas sees the closed-loop design and circular economy as “good for business”
While governments and scientific institutes are on the frontline of circular economy innovation, global brands are also extremely well placed to contribute as well, due to their substantial resources and international presence.
This month Adidas outlined its philosophy that embracing the circular economy and closed-loop design is the only way to operate a business that is truly sustainable in both the economic and environmental senses.
Accordingly, Adidas has designed its first fully-recyclable shoe, made entirely from just one material: thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU). Currently, there are 200 Futurecraft Loop trainers being tested by selected users, who will return the prototype shoes to be ground up into pellets at the end of their lifespan.
With the fashion and clothing industries repeatedly coming under fire for their highly wasteful practices, the shift towards circular economic practices is desirable for big global brands from both an economic and PR perspective. As such, we can expect to see more announcements of this kind from major fashion brands in the near future. Just this May, Nike released its new circular design guide, which it hopes will provide a common language of circularity for the fashion industry and a host of useful case studies, which Nike has pledged to add to in the coming years.
