Proliferation of cheap disposable goods and materials is a key negative by-product of the linear economy, symbolised for many by numerous images of miles and miles of plastic floating in the middle of the ocean. To achieve a switch to a circular economy, consumer markets will have to focus on old fashioned durable products that are made from good quality materials and last longer.
Late last year, we wrote about the tiny Pacific island of Nauru. About how the overexploitation of phosphate deposits had turned it from a place with the highest income per head in the world after Saudi Arabia into a destitute and uninhabitable place. The island has become an example and a warning of the ultimate outcome of a linear economy.
The alternative is a circular economy. It is an economic system which aims to emulate the nature’s circle of life and energy, where nothing comes from nothing and nothing is ever wasted. Two of the most important elements of this concept are avoidance or economical use of natural resources and prolonging the use of products.
In the field of renewable sources of energy and the use of natural resources, there has already been some progress made not only in the advanced economies but also in emerging markets of Asia. There are many encouraging stories to help the region meet the goals of the Paris Agreement of keeping this century’s temperature rise to below 2% compared to the pre-industrial levels.
For example, United Microelectronics Corporation, a Taiwanese process technology solution provider, recycles almost 90% of the water used in its manufacturing[1]. With a 30% market share, China’s Xinyi Solar is among leaders in the solar glass industry. Hong Kong-based carriers, Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon, have been investing in renewable fuel and studying the possibility of producing such fuels in Hong Kong.
However, it is only half the story. If Asia is to build a well-functioning circular economy, it will need to move away from the “throw-away” culture driven by fashion and plastic, which it has so well adopted from the Western linear economic model.
And as the young middle class matures across the emerging markets of Asia, this task may not be as daunting as it first seems. A product that lasts longer, and that’s considered worth holding onto for longer, begins to look good value even if the ticket price is higher than for rivals. A spectacularly successful case is the long-running ad campaign for the expensive Patek Philippe watch, described by a marketing professor in 2015 article in The Atlantic magazine as the best advertising campaign “of all time”: “You never actually own a Patek Philippe. You merely look after it for the next generation.”[i]
Some companies are experimenting with products that can repair themselves, such as self-healing leather and building materials. Scientists have experimented with incorporating calcium sulfoaluminate into cement-based materials, to close cracks that may appear later.[ii] US firm SAS Nanotechnologies has invented self-healing microcapsules in paint that act as an anti-corrosive pigment.
Another approach to extending the life of both products and raw materials is modularity: creating products with a limited number of standardised and easily separated components that can be replaced, or recombined to make new products. The Dutch company Fairphone has created a smartphone designed to last much longer than the typical device, because users can easily replace their own screens, batteries and other parts as they shatter, wear out or become outdated. Buyers are encouraged to return Fairphones or any other old smartphones in the empty box, and receive cashback or a discount.
Disassembly for reuse or Recycling is easier if products are “monomaterials” – made with a single material – or at least with the smallest number of materials necessary. Germany’s Metro, which operates membership-only warehouse clubs, has pledged to use monomaterials in its packaging where possible to improve Recyclability, with the stated aim of “supporting the circular economy approach”. This requires heavy R&D spending, but chemicals and engineering companies are responding to this demand. For example, Germany’s Siemens, Spanish machine maker Bossar Packaging and US packaging company Scholle IPN have developed a technique for making recyclable monomaterial film. The increasingly clamorous eco-fashion movement is calling for more clothes to be made from pure cotton, pure nylon or other single materials.
When manufacturers have little choice but to create a product made from a number of materials, work can still be done to make it easier to disassemble – for example, by not incorporating adhesives or hazardous waste. This has given birth to a new field, “active disassembly”, where the product is designed using materials and processes that break it apart in reaction to external stimuli. Joseph Chiodo, an inventor who runs a company called Active Disassembly Research, has worked with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Sony and Nokia on research projects in this field. He has devised, for instance, a screw that will lose its thread when heated.
Profit creation in the linear economy is based on selling as many products as possible made from the cheapest materials available and then replacing them with new versions at the earliest opportunity. This could be cars, mechanical appliances or fashion clothing. Competition in the linear economy speeds up changing fashions, as every designer, every smartphone producer, every carmaker tries to launch a new look, new model that is sharper, has a bigger “wow” factor, and a more luxurious feel. Therefore, a move to a circular economy will have to involve a significant change in today’s consumer culture and the values on which it is based.
[1] https://www.eetimes.com/are-tsmc-umc-affected-by-taiwans-water-shortages/#
[i] https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/03/the-big-question/384984/
[ii] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/257407061_Self-healing_of_surface_cracks_in_mortars_with_expansive_additive_and_crystalline_additive