There are many different kinds of waste, including radioactive, harmful (industrial), biomaterials, electrical (e-waste), and municipal wastes (household, industrial, and disposal wastes). Waste Management is concerned with the collection, transportation, valuation, and treatment of these wastes. Moreover, it covers all operations related to the administration of wastes, from creation to disposal. The goal of circular waste management is to lessen the harm that trash does to the environment, human health, world resources, and beauty.
What does Circular Economy mean?
The concept of the circular economy refers to a system in which materials are used over and over again, rather than being discarded or sent to landfills. For example, when a company makes a product out of recycled plastic bottles or aluminum cans that they’ve collected from consumers—rather than mining virgin materials—they’re practicing circularity. The concept was developed by Ernst Peter Fischer in 2002 at the Helsinki School of Economics (Finland), where he worked as a professor of environmental economics until 2015.
The circular economy is a response to the growing problem of waste in our society. The idea behind it is simple: if you design things so they can be repaired or reused again and again, then you won’t need as much scrap metal or plastic packaging material because your product will last longer before breaking down after its first use.
What are Circular Materials?
A circular product has been designed to reuse in different ways over time—for example, it can be recycled or composted, or it might even be used as raw material for another product. A good example of this is plastic bottles, instead of being thrown away when you finish them. These kinds of items are designed to be processed into other things like new containers for liquid or even new packaging materials such as paper bags or boxes. There are entire companies devoted just to this kind of eco-friendly service because it saves money on manufacturing costs while reducing waste at the end-user level.
Circular materials are made from biodegradable or recyclable material, which means that we can use them again and again without causing environmental harm. They are often natural but can also be made by humans. Natural materials include wood, cotton, jute, and hemp. Synthetic materials include plastic, rubber, metal, etc.
Circular materials can also help you make more efficient products or even sustainable ones. Some circular materials are inherently more durable than traditional non-circular materials because they do not require as much maintenance or repair over time.
Circular Economy Examples
Through circular economy, we get rid of an item and use its parts to make something else beneficial. Some of the circular economy examples are:
- Plastic materials can be recycled by companies to make important products for storing and packing other products.
- You might think you are going to throw away old glass jars when you order new ones at the grocery store; instead, you put them in your recycling bin so someone else can reuse them later on.
- After recycling metals, they can be used in making household items, such as iron is recycled to make steel which is used in making steel jars, pots, and other materials.
Circular Waste Management
The world is facing a waste crisis. Every year, we produce more and more waste, and it’s becoming a bigger and bigger problem, hence to overcome this problem, circular waste management is one solution.
Circular waste management is a system where waste is treated as a resource, instead of being sent to a landfill, waste is recycled and reused. This helps to reduce the amount of waste produced, and it’s a more sustainable way of managing resources.
There are three main principles of circular waste management:
1. Reduce
2. Reuse
3. Recycle
By following these principles, we can make a big difference in the amount of waste we produce.
1. Reduce
The first principle of circular waste management is to reduce the amount of waste we produce. This can be done by using fewer resources, and by making sure that the resources we do use are used efficiently.
For example,
- We can reduce the amount of waste we produce by using less water.
- We can also reduce the amount of food waste we produce by eating more local and seasonal produce.
2. Reuse
The second principle of circular waste management is to reuse resources which mean using resources more than once and making sure that they don’t go to waste.
For example,
- We can reuse packaging by recycling it.
- We can also reuse clothes by donating them to charity.
3. Recycle
The third principle of circular waste management is to recycle resources which mean turning waste into new products.
For example,
- We can recycle paper to make new paper.
- We can also recycle plastic to make new plastic products.
Companies working on Circular Waste Management
Covanta Holding Corporation
Covanta Holding Corporation is a New Jersey-based publicly listed company, provides services including municipal trash management and waste treatment.
The company and the Town of North Hempstead agreed to a solid waste management agreement in January 2021. Around 140 kilo tonnes of garbage will be utilised at Covanta’s waste-to-energy complex to create steam, which will then be used to create electricity. The agreement is for a 5-year period with a 10-year extension option.
Company Website: https://www.covanta.com/
Cleanway
Cleanaway Garbage Management Limited is a waste management firm with its headquarters in Australia and has about 6,000 employees.
The business extended its 3-year contract with “Clean Up Australia” in April 2021. To create a circular economy for consumer products in the zone, the firm planned to recover and recycle the waste. Both organizations will work together to increase public awareness of sustainable solid waste management.
Grasshopper Environmental, a trash management company with 40 years of expertise in Sydney, the Blue Mountains, Illawarra, and the Central Coast Region, was bought by the company in October 2020. The company is expanding its geological footprints as part of its Footprint 2025 ambition with this investment.
Company Website: https://www.cleanaway.com.au/
GFL Environmental Services
GFL Environmental Services offers services for the management of solid and liquid waste, and is the only significant waste handling company in North America.
The firm entered into a legally binding contract to acquire the solid waste management service from Terrapure Environmental Limited in March 2021. In Canada, Terrapure is a solid waste supply company with approximately 7,000 clients. With this agreement, GFL aims to increase its skills and geographic footprint in Canada.
In September 2020, the acquisition of WCA Waste Corporation by GFL received approval from the US Department of Justice. In August 2020, a tentative agreement was struck by GFL and Macquarie Infrastructure Partners II to acquire WCA Waste Corporation. GFL seeks to increase its presence in the Southeast and Midwest of the country.
Company Website: https://gflenv.com/
Remondis SE & Co. KG
Remondis is a massive German corporation with its main office in Lünen that specializes in recycling, water supply management, and industrial and municipal services.
In June 2019, Remondis launched its state-of-the-art C&D recycling facility in Durham County, England. By boosting recycling and recovery rates, the facility was developed to utilize cutting-edge technology for the disposal of commercial trash connected to construction and demolition.
Company Website: https://www.remondis.com/
Conclusion
The circular economy is a more sustainable way of doing business that reduces waste, conserves resources, and creates less pollution. It recognizes that natural resources are limited, so we need to find ways to reuse materials when they are no longer needed in their present form. By following the principles of reducing, reusing, and recycling, we can make a big difference in the amount of waste we produce. This is a more sustainable way of managing resources, and it’s something we can all do to help the environment.
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