EU proposal to achieve a circular economy by 2050  

Production of commodities requires raw materials and raw materials are dependent on resources. Resources are in limited supply, and becoming scarce by every passing day, while demand for commodities keeps increasing as the world population continues to grow. Furthermore, extraction and use of raw materials has a significant impact on the climate and environment. It increases energy consumption and CO₂ emissions.
 
Unless we change how we use our resources we will require two more planets to meet our needs in a timespan as short as another 3 decades. The ‘use and throw’ society with a huge carbon footprint needs to be replaced with a carbon-neutral, environmentally sustainable and pollution-free, circular economy. EU plans to achieve this target by 2050. Intelligent use of raw materials through circular economy can optimize use of resources and reduce CO₂ emissions.
 

What is Circular Economy 

 In contrast to traditional linear or throwaway economy, the circular economy model of production and consumption entails that life cycle of products is extended by sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products for as long as possible. Waste is thus reduced to a minimum as resources and materials remain in the economy as much as possible even after a product has reached the end of its life. They are used and reused productively over and over again to continue to generate added value.
Please watch the video in the link below to better understand the concept of circular economy.
https://multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/de/video/x_V007-0034
 

EU Action Plan for the Circular Economy 

 The Circular Economy Action Plan forwarded by the European Commission calls for strict recycling targets and binding reduction targets for the use and consumption of materials. Additionally, it proposes promoting sustainable products, supporting the transition towards green living, amending Construction Products Regulation and an environment friendly strategy for sustainable textiles. Circular economy calls for some basic concepts in handling products and their use as below:

• Promoting recycling and recovery of critical raw materials.
• Creating digital product passports to share relevant information along product life cycle.
• Supporting initiatives to improve repair and longer lifespans of products.

 
In order to achieve absolute circular economy, the principles of circular economy and sustainability must span across all stages of a value chain: right from conception to production, moving on to distribution and then consumption and waste management. These principles should focus on few key sectors of products to cover the major contributors of waste and carbon emission- including plastics, textiles, electronics, food, water and nutrients, packaging, batteries and vehicles, construction and buildings. The EU Commission action plan targets to handle these key areas as below:

·  Plastics- Phasing out the use of microplastics and single use plastics; and promoting plastic recycling.

· Textiles- Promoting textiles made from recycled fibers, with the end products being more durable and recyclable.

· Electronics- Promoting reusability and repairability of products, to extend product lifespans. This is very important area to be covered, considering that Electrical and electronic waste is the fastest growing waste in EU, with less than 40% being recycled.

· Food, water and nutrients- Farm to Fork sustainability strategy to reduce the food waste bu about 50% by 2030. About 20% of food produced in EU is wasted.

· Packaging- In 2017, EU packaging waste reached a record levels demanding strict regulations. It is planned that all packaging in EU should be reusable or recyclable by 2030.

· Batteries and vehicles- New rules to promote battery sustainability. Also future production of batteries will be planned with the lowest possible environmental impact.

· Construction industry- Claiming over 35% of all waste generated in the EU, revised Construction Products Regulation are expected to modernize old rules to extend lifespan of buildings, as well reduced CO₂ footprint of building materials and minimum requirements for resource and energy efficiency.

· Waste management- EU generates over 2.5 billion tons of waste per year. In 2020, 32.7 million tonnes of waste was shipped from EU to third countries (mainly Turkey, India and Egypt), mostly consisting of metal scrap, paper, plastic, textile and glass. EU member states to promote high-quality recycling, and reduce/phase out waste export.

 
References

https://www.umweltbundesamt.at/kreislaufwirtschaft
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/de/ip_20_420
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/de/headlines/society/20210128STO96607/wie-will-die-eu-bis-2050-eine-kreislaufwirtschaft-erreichen

Image Source:
https://www.centexbel.be/en/expertise/circular-economy