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

在经典的循环经济思想中，资源流动被分为技术周期（管理有限资源的存量，如矿物和化石）和生物周期（管理可再生资源的流动，如农产品和可再生能源）。两者最好分开，并有不同的应用。生物材料非常适合短期使用，在腐烂之前不需要分离以产生有价值的营养物质，能量和水，并且如果它们落入环境中则是良性的。技术材料最好用于长期应用，需要分离到特定的资源再利用途径，并且可能污染环境，例如金属或二氧化碳。该假说认为，当前的经济不仅主要是线性的，而且特别是没有充分利用生物循环。症状包括：- 基于大量使用合成肥料的农业，污染水系统，消耗土壤健康，并具有高碳足迹-未能提供广泛的可持续卫生系统，部分原因是未能将其视为生物和水循环的一部分-将塑料用于短期应用，自然涉及与生物材料混合-食品包装，卫生产品，尿布，使用后再利用和回收总是可能非常有限，耐用废物激增-在发达国家和发展中国家，缺乏对多种形式生物废物的持续收集和处理-增加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，而不是从生物来源回收可再生能源的目的是扭转这种线性模型的三重负面影响：-利润：虽然线性模式具有高度优化的商业模式，但有证据表明，循环模式在经济上是有利的，实现了资源的价值，并使财务上可持续的企业和基础设施。- 行星：线性模式污染土地、空气和水，减少土壤健康，耗尽资源和生态系统，而循环模式可以帮助再生所有这些。- 人员：这两项成果联合收割机表明，循环模式可以使可持续系统具有重要的社会/健康效益，特别是卫生效益。实际上，这将意味着两个设计上的变化，需要并行：-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），并安全地生产水，可再生能源，营养素和其他有价值的产品。- 食品/消费品产品及其供应链中的替代：a）可生物降解的材料替代（部分）塑料B）可回收的营养物质和水替代合成肥料和淡水c）可再生生物能源替代化石能源和木材燃料这项研究将帮助企业和基础设施提供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.