EU action plan for the circular economy: progress so far

On 25 July, at the invitation of CIEMAT, Dr Eric Ponthieu, Head of Unit, Section for Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment (NAT), Directorate-General C (Legislative work), European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), gave a lecture entitled’The EU Action Plan for the Circular Economy – Progress so far’.
A detailed description of the lecture was Published by Retema on August, 30 2018 (https://www.retema.es/noticia/plan-de-accion-de-la-union-europea-para-la-economia-circular-progreso-hasta-ahora-1GyTj)
The speaker began by establishing the differences between the linear and circular economy models, emphasizing the idea that the latter is not the result of uniting the extremes of the linear economy model, which would include natural resources, their transport, their treatment and use and the generation of by-products already considered as waste, but is rather more complex. In an extreme simplification, several sections could be considered, where the waste is final and the beginning of the cycle, thus joining the primary natural resources, which would then go on to the production or treatment of the resources, consumption and, finally, management of the waste, some of which would be reintroduced back into the circuit. In reality, the circular economy scheme is not a single circle, on the contrary, it would be more a matter of circles and subcircles, with different levels of industrial and citizen involvement, etc.
In the circular economy, the by-products of a given economic activity can and should be considered as the starting point of another economic activity, in such a way as to increase efficiency and added value along the route of the circular economy scheme: production, consumption, waste management and the use of this waste as a resource in itself, capable of starting the production cycle again. Thus, different possible strategies could be considered, from least to least efficient as a social economy, such as: recycling, restoration or remanufacturing, reuse and redistribution, and maintenance and repairability of consumer goods (in this section he mentioned planned obsolescence). The speaker used the emphasis on acting on the first phases of the product use cycle, emphasizing the importance of eco-design as the first stage of the economic circular.

Eric Ponthieu highlighted the consequences of the model of society in which we live, in which products and materials are of little value and in which the public does not end up assuming that a large part of the waste products should not go to landfills for disposal or incinerators for destruction, but that it would be necessary to find ways of reintroducing into the production cycle those by-products that could be recycled, reused, restored or used as a source of energy by certain technologies, avoiding the environmental costs involved.

Given this situation and the balance of imports and exports of the European Union, the circular economy is not only a trend, it is a necessity, with benefits such as: the use as raw materials of products from other processes, thus diversifying the flows of raw materials; the increase in the value of products, materials and resources by increasing the time of presence in the production cycle; and, very important, the decrease in the generation of waste, with the environmental implications inherent to this decrease. It is evident that in this model of circular economy a new business model is promoted, increasing competitiveness by creating new opportunities for innovative products and services.
Among other things, Eric Ponthieu stressed that increasing resource productivity by 30% by 2030 would increase the European Union’s GDP by 1%. In addition, there is an interesting aspect resulting from this productive model, and that is the creation of social opportunities for minority or disadvantaged groups. Evidently, linear and circular production models will coexist, and the interaction between them will be beneficial, developing collaborative strategies for more efficient sustainable development.
The most important aspects to be achieved with the circular economy model are: increasing competitiveness, ensuring the supply of raw materials and energy, reducing dependence on imports, and reducing environmental pressure due to human activity.
In December 2015, the European Union developed a package of measures to support the transition to a circular economy in the European Union, including legislative proposals on waste, recycling and reuse. In 2017, the European Commission introduced additional measures in relation to the establishment of a circular economy financial support platform with the European Investment Bank (EIB) and dictating rules on the management of waste and the treatment of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment. In 2018 it established a “European Union Strategy for Plastics in the Circular Economy”, to alleviate the over-consumption of plastics and the problems it creates – in the seas and oceans and in landfills. Once again, the need to design strategies for citizens to consider products that can be reintroduced into the productive circle as waste was highlighted, as well as European trends -in different countries- to recover and reuse, such as furniture restoration, recovery of glass containers, etc.
In May 2018, four legislative proposals were made with regard to waste; for example, to introduce municipal charges based on the ratio of waste to recycling; to make recommendations for waste separation at source, including home composting; and to minimise plastic packaging and packaging made of wood, ferrous metals, aluminium, glass and paper. These measures aim, among others, to reduce the volume of waste in landfills, promoting the recovery or recycling of the products that currently arrive at these facilities, promoting the co-responsibility of citizens in waste management.

As the debate showed, there are still many barriers to the effective implementation of this model of circular economy. Among the questions raised: the need to include the Circular Economy in the policies of the European Union, promoting its implementation as a transversal element; the return to strategies that have fallen into disuse for decades, such as the recovery of packaging; the need to educate to involve citizens and provide real value for each person in these changes of attitude, making them a reality in the near future. The question was also raised of the application of mathematical models to studies on circular economy that allow the demonstration and verification of the benefits that the adoption of this productive type implies for society in general.