Unlocking the Circular Economy - Realising the potential of the Biological Cycle

机会/假设在经典的循环经济思想中，资源流动分为技术周期(管理矿产和化石等有限资源的库存)和生物周期(管理农产品和可再生能源等可再生资源的流动)。这两者最好保持独立，并有不同的应用。生物材料是短期使用的理想材料，在腐烂之前不需要分离，从而产生有价值的营养、能量和水，如果它们落入环境中，则是无害的。技术材料更适合于长期使用，需要分离到特定的资源再利用途径，而且可能会污染环境，比如金属或二氧化碳。假设是，当前的经济不仅主要是线性的，它还特别地没有充分利用生物周期。症状包括：-以大量使用合成化肥为基础的农业，合成化肥污染水系统，耗尽土壤健康，并具有高碳足迹--未能提供广泛的可持续卫生系统，部分原因是没有将其视为生物和水循环的一部分--将塑料用于短暂的应用，自然涉及与生物材料的混合--食品包装、卫生产品、尿布，之后的再利用和回收总是很可能非常有限，耐用废物激增--在发达国家和发展中国家，缺乏对多种形式的生物废物的一致收集和处理--增加了废物焚烧的能源回收，这实际上使塑料成为第四种化石燃料，而不是从生物来源中回收可再生能源，目的是扭转这种线性模式的三重负面影响：-利润：尽管线性模式高度优化了商业模式，但有证据表明，循环模式可以在经济上有利，实现资源价值，并实现财务上可持续的企业和基础设施。-行星：线性模型污染土地、空气和水，降低土壤健康，耗尽资源和生态系统，循环模型可以帮助再生所有这些。-人：这两个结果结合在一起表明，循环模式可以使可持续系统具有重要的社会/健康益处，特别是卫生。实际上，这意味着需要同时进行两个设计变化：-广泛引入基础设施，收集各种形式的生物/可堆肥废物(更好的术语是资源)，并安全地产生水、可再生能源、营养物质和其他有价值的产品。-在食品/消费品产品及其供应链中的替代：a)可生物降解材料取代(一些)塑料；b)回收养分和水取代合成化肥和淡水；c)可再生生物能源取代化石能源和木材燃料这项研究将帮助企业和基础设施供应商设计和实施这些系统，提供实用的指导和方法。

Opportunity / Hypothesis In classic Circular Economy thinking, resource flows are divided into the Technical Cycle (managing stocks of finite resources, such as minerals and fossils), and the Biological Cycle (managing flows of renewable resources, such as agricultural products, and renewable energy). The two are best kept separate, and have different applications. Biological materials are ideal for short lived-uses, need no segregation before decaying to yield valuable nutrients, energy, and water, and are benign if they fall into the environment. Technical materials are better used for long-lived applications, need segregation into specific resource re-use pathways, and can contaminate the environment, say with metals or CO2. The hypothesis is that not only is the current economy predominantly linear, it specifically underutilises the biological cycle. Symptoms include: - Agriculture based on heavy use of synthetic fertilisers, which pollute water systems, deplete soil health, and have a high carbon footprint - The failure to provide widespread sustainable sanitation systems, in part caused by failing to see them as part of the biological and water cycles - The use of plastics for short-lived applications which naturally involve mixing with biological materials - food packaging, sanitary products, nappies , uses after which re-use and recycling are always likely to be very limited, and durable waste proliferates - The absence of consistent collection and processing of multiple forms of biological waste, in developed and developing countries - Increasing energy recovery from waste incineration, which in effect makes plastic a fourth fossil fuel, as opposed to recovering renewable energy from biological sources The aim is to reverse the triple negative impact of this linear model: - Profit: although the linear model has highly optimised business models, there is evidence that the circular model can be economically favourable, realising value in resources, and enabling financially sustainable businesses and infrastructure. - Planet: the linear model contaminates land, air, and water, diminishes soil health, and depletes resources and ecosystems , the circular model can help to regenerate all of these. - People: these two outcomes combine to indicate that the circular model could enable sustainable systems with important social/health benefits, particularly sanitation. In practical terms this would mean two design changes, needed in parallel: - Widespread introduction of infrastructure which collects all forms of biological/compostable waste (a better term is resource) and safely yields water, renewable energy, nutrients, and other valuable products. - Substitution, within food / consumer goods products and their supply chains: a) biodegradable materials replacing (some) plastics b) recycled nutrients and water replacing synthetic fertilisers and fresh water c) renewable bio-energy replacing fossil-based energy and wood fuel This research will help businesses and infrastructure providers to design and implement these systems, providing practical guidance and methodologies.