Taking Stock Volume 16

2 Feature Analysis: Off-site Transfers to Disposal in North America, 2014–2018

2.5 Sustainable Production and Alternatives to the Generation and Disposal of Industrial Waste

2.5.2 The role of industry in the circular economy

While regulatory instruments and incentives affect the ways and extent to which industrial and manufacturing sectors adopt a more circular approach to their operations, other factors also play a role. To support the implementation of a circular economy model within industry, the mindsets of both consumers and producers must change—which in turn influences productive sectors to design their products in accordance with circular economy principles—that is, based on the use of waste as raw materials and a reduction in the use of toxic and non-reusable products.

Environmental sustainability efforts undertaken by industry have been triggered by global concerns about the impacts on human health and the environment. Some industries have adopted practices such as prohibiting specific substances, improving the efficiency of their processes, and promoting a culture of corporate social and environmental responsibility – all the while seeking to avoid negative economic impacts. These practices may be oriented towards specific objectives, but they are recognized as sustainable if they contribute to minimizing environmental and human health risks and impacts. Financial, regulatory, reputational, and operational aspects are key factors that influence the adoption of sustainability within industry.

A study by Accenture (2019), a global service provider for a wide range of industries including chemical manufacturing, showed that about half of the 6,000 consumers surveyed would pay more for sustainable products, with around 70% indicating that they are more likely to buy organic produce than five years ago.^[77] This change in the consumer mindset is having an impact throughout the supply chain. Manufacturers of automobiles, clothing, electronics, food, and toys, among other sectors, are adopting a circular economy (or product life cycle) approach. This involves changing the way they design their products and packaging, along with their use of chemicals. As a result, the upstream chemical manufacturing sector, as an indispensable link in the supply chain for many of these sectors, is also affected by these changes.

Product design to reduce and prevent the generation of waste

Companies are redesigning their products with the use of recycled and recyclable raw materials in mind. This includes reducing energy and other resources, such as water, in their production processes. Waste resulting from the production and post-consumption stages is reintegrated into the production process; when this is not possible, the waste is sent to partner companies for use in other parts of the value chain (for example, to cement companies where the slag dust can be used as a substitute for iron ore in clinker production).

• Designing more durable products

It follows that companies must also design their products in a way that counteracts the “planned obsolescence” that is an all-too-common feature of consumer goods. There are four main ways in which a company can achieve planned obsolescence: a) artificial durability; b) software updates; c) perceived obsolescence; and d) repair prevention.^[78]

In 2017, the European Parliament approved the “Resolution on a longer useful life of products: benefits for consumers and companies,” aimed at countering planned obsolescence (European Parliament 2017). Apart from the environmental benefits, it was estimated that if 1% of all manufactured products found in landfills were recycled, 200,000 new jobs would be created.^[79] In Spain, the Energy and Sustainable Innovation Foundation without Planned Obsolescence (Fundación Energía e Innovación Sostenible sin Obsolescencia Programada—FENISS) certifies companies that produce goods and services that respect the environment and are designed to last.^[80] Companies that have taken the lead in the fight against planned obsolescence are selling products that consumers “buy for life” (meaning they are of high quality, but also reparable if needed).

• Green Chemistry

The management of an industrial and/or hazardous waste depends on its life cycle: how it is extracted or produced; its use; and if and how it can be treated at the end of its first useful life. The foregoing assumes that certain substances can be reincorporated into production processes for reuse or recycling.

Using the principles of green chemistry, a concept developed in 1998 by Anastas and Warner, the chemical manufacturing industry can capture valuable recirculating molecules from used chemical compositions at the end of their useful lives, meaning it can use more renewable raw materials. This has the potential to generate enormous savings, since raw materials can represent approximately 60 percent of the total costs of a chemical company. The key principles of green chemistry, which aims to reduce the development and use of toxic substances, are the prevention of waste, increasing energy efficiency, the use of renewable raw materials, designing safer chemicals, and reducing the possibility of accidents (European Parliament 2017; UNEP 2019).

• Adding value to waste materials

The Green Chemistry Institute of the American Chemical Society provides examples of the transformation of waste into energy, fuels, and other useful and valuable materials. For example, Biofine Technology LLC (now DPS Biometics, Inc.) developed a process to convert biomass (cellulose residues contained in paper mill sludge, municipal solid waste, non-recyclable wastepaper, wood residues, and agricultural residues) into valuable fuels and chemicals (e.g., levulinic acid—a substance that can be used as a base for chemicals in many useful materials such as pharmaceuticals, food additives, and plastics). This process reduces the use of fossil fuels, as well as the cost of levulinic acid.^[81]

• Chemical Leasing model

Chemical leasing is a service-based business model that facilitates recycling, return and reuse of chemicals, resulting in reduced resource consumption, waste, and emissions. This model also lends itself to more cost-effective processes by better targeting chemicals to a specific use or product (for example, a solvent-based cleaner for auto parts), as well as recovering these wasted chemicals for recycling and reuse.^[82]