Summary - Circular economy course by Technical University of Delft

Circular Economy
SUMMARY - LECTURES FROM TU DELFT CIRCULAR ECONOMY
COURSE
Vikas Pandey, Amsterdam, The Netherlands .

4 principles of circular economy -
 1- Waste = food ( no waste thinking)
 2- Build resilience through diversity ( connect multiple multiple channels/sources for
sustainability)
 3- Work with energy from renewable resources ( re-new)
 4- Think in systems ( see connections between people, places and ideas)
PRINCIPLES OF CIRCULAR ECONOMY

This principle considers the continuous cycling of materials and products. A material or
product that is no longer used shouldn't become 'waste', but instead should be part of a
new cycle of use.
Natural system, example: Birds eat berries. Bird droppings contain berry seeds. The bird
droppings also act as a fertiliser for the seeds, enabling these to grow into plants. Bird
'waste' is ‘food’ for berry plants.
Man-made system, example: I drink wine from a glass bottle. When the bottle is empty I
throw it in the glass recycling bin. The bottle is crushed, melted and formed into a new glass
bottle. Glass bottle 'waste' therefore becomes ‘food’ for new glass bottles.
WASTE = FOOD

Diverse systems i.e. systems with many different components, are more resilient. Resilient
is defined as being capable of dealing with change while continuing to develop. This is
particularly true if the components of a system respond differently to change and
disruption. A particular disturbance is then unlikely to present the same risk to all
components at once.
Natural system, example: A jungle.
Man-made system, example: An organic farm with mixed crops (not one crop, but a variety
of different foods).
BUILD RESILIENCE THROUGH DIVERSITY

The sun is one of the major sources of renewable energy (wind power, tidal power and
plant growth directly derive from sunlight), but not the only one. The other source is
geothermal heat, generated deep within the earth.
Natural system, example: A green plant (sunlight converts CO2 and water into sugars:
photosynthesis).
Man-made system, example: A solar cell (sunlight is converted into electricity).
ENERGY THROUGH RENEWABLE
RESOURCES

Natural system, example: The food chain. If one species goes extinct, it can affect many
other species, because they are interdependent in complex ways.
Man-made system, example: Unexpected effects. We now have energy saving light
bulbs. We feel good about these, because they save electricity. But now we are putting
these light bulbs in places that were not illuminated before (gardens, for instance). As
a result we are not saving as much electricity as we had expected.
THINK IN SYSTEMS

The Circular Economy concept has deep-rooted origins and cannot be traced back to one
single date or author. The generic concept has been refined and developed by the following
schools of thought:
• Regenerative Design (representative: John T. Lyle).
• Performance Economy (representative: Walter Stahel).
• Cradle to Cradle (representatives: Michael Braungart and William McDonough)
• Blue Economy (representative: Gunter Pauli)
• Permaculture (representatives: Bill Mollison and David Holmgren)
• Biomimicry (representative: Janine Benyus)
• Industrial Ecology (this is more than a school of thought, it is an academic discipline that
has been taught since the 1990s)
CIRCULAR ECONOMY ORIGINS

The Circular Economy concept has deep-rooted origins and cannot be traced back to one
single date or author. In this in-depth session, we explore some of the schools of thought
that contributed to the refinement and development of the Circular Economy concept:
• Industrial Ecology - Industrial Ecology is concerned with the study of material and energy
flows through industrial systems. Industrial Ecology and the Circular Economy share
similar goals and principles.
• Cradle to Cradle - Real life systems are not static: we have to continuously strive to
improve them. Instead of letting valuable materials and substances (like phosphates) go
to waste, we need to understand that “everything is a nutrient”. Science therefore
also has to keep improving its methods.
• Biomimicry - Biomimicry is “viewing nature not for what we can extract, harvest or
domesticate, but for what we can learn.”
ROOTS OF CIRCULAR ECONOMY

The three main business processes required to close loops are:
1. Acquisition (collect the right volumes of products or materials of the right quality,
for a reasonable price)
2. Reprocessing (refurbish, remanufacture or recycle used products or materials, for
a reasonable price)
3. Remarketing (identify markets that want to buy the reprocessed products or
materials)
If any of these key processes fails we do not have a closed loop. Closing the loop on the
product or part level potentially generates much more value than on the material level.
BUSINESS PROCESSES TO CLOSE LOOPS

BUSINESS PROCESSES TO CLOSE LOOPS

1. Direct gains - sourcing value
2. Indirect gains - envt/cust/info value
 Sourcing value - closed loops ( profits) Sourcing value refers to all types of direct cost
reductions and savings that can arise from closed loop business practices. Create. New
market with refurbished products ( less costs with return policy) . Reduce risk by keeping
customers with closed loops. Reduction of cost to course materials.
 Environmental value (inform to customer/govt to get loyalty) - reverse supply chain for
e.g. easy to return products/ replace/exchange.
 More customer value - with happy an satisfied/loyal customers
 Informational value refers to the valuable data on production and supply problems, failure
rates, useful lifetime of the product, consumer complaints and usage patterns. This data
can be acquired more easily in a closed loop system. It can be used to improve different
processes (product design, production, etc.). improve design / supply chain processes
BUSINESS VALUE - TYPES

Business processes that need to be in place in order to make refurbishing a success. Try to
identify the three processes described by Erwin van der Laan:
• Acquisition,
• Reprocessing, and
• Remarketing.
Three general barriers for refurbishment:
• Perception: the idea that refurbished products are of lesser quality.
• International trade barriers and other regulatory barriers can make it difficult to trade
refurbished products or components.
• Commitment from top management. Closing the loop through refurbishment needs to be
a strategic business decision.
BUSINESS VALUE FOR REFURBISHMENTS

We can distinguish three different categories of product-
service business models:
• Product-oriented: the business model is geared towards sales
of products. Some extra services are added, for instance, a
maintenance contract (OWNERSHIP)
• Use-oriented: The product still plays a central role. It is owned
by a provider and is made available to a client. This is also
referred to as an "access" model (CAR LEASE)
• Result-oriented: The client and provider agree on a result.
There is no pre-determined product involved. This is also
referred to as a "performance" model (PAY PER USE)
BUSINESS MODELS

Challenges of moving from a product-oriented to a result-oriented business model.
• The transition from a product-oriented model to a result-oriented model is difficult.
• Typical barriers are the need to pre-finance the products that are offered as part of the
service contract, the need to organize maintenance, repair, and acquisition, and the need
to change the "sell more, sell faster" culture of the organization.
CHALLENGES – RESULT ORIENTED
MODEL

Key concepts that are fundamental for a Linear Economy
• Extract as much as you can, to meet high production standards. It is based on the
assumption that our macroeconomies are not so, and/or that natural resources are
unlimited.
• Process all those raw materials, mix them together to get max profit with poorer materials.
• Distribute unidirectionally, we don't take input from our products.
• Use as few times as possible. This is fueled by poor quality products and the idea of
owning more (newer) to be happier and better.
• Dispose throwing away, not even (re)thinking the possibilities (value) of what we call
waste.
• Design: design process and product destined for one use.
• Customer services: focus in the products not in the value of the services.
CONCEPTS TO CIRCULAR ECONOMY

The smaller the loop, the greater the profitability of the system. Product life extension is
important in a circular economy.
• The smaller the loop, the greater the profitability of the system
• The two ways to extend the life of a product are (a) keeping a product in use for longer
and (b), giving a product a second, third, etc., life.
• A product's life can be extended by making it durable, easy to maintain and upgrade, and
by making it repairable. Refurbishment and remanufacture also extend a product's life.
• Do not repair what is not broken, do not remanufacture something that can be repaired,
do not recycle a product that can be remanufactured. Walter Stahel calls this the "Inertia
Principle".
LONG LASTING PRODUCTS

The desire to create timeless products versus the need to work in a commercial and
dynamically changing business environment with a continuous demand for "new".
• Product designers need to balance many different requirements when developing a new
product.
• Although designers sometimes wish they could design a "classic", they need to take into
account that products often operate in a changing context and therefore have to change
over time.
• In a linear economy where "sell more, sell faster" is the dominant principle, creating
longer lasting products usually doesn’t make sense.
LONG LASTING PRODUCTS

The six design principles for longer lasting products.
• Design for attachment and trust is about creating products that will be loved, liked or
trusted longer.
• Design for durability is about developing products that can take wear and tear.
• Design for standardization and compatibility is aimed at creating products with parts that
fit other products as well.
• Design for ease of maintenance and repair enables products to be maintained in tip-top
condition.
• Design for upgradability and adaptability allows for future expansion and modification.
• Design for disassembly and reassembly ensures product parts can be separated and
reassembled easily.
SIX DESIGN STRATEGIES

Repair criteria
• Easy to understand
• Availability of parts
• Availability of Tools
• Repairs will be durable / functional / aesthetically acceptable or pleasing
• Cost is affordable
REPAIR CRITERIA

What is remanufacturing, and how does it compare to repair and refurbishment?
• Repair, refurbishment and remanufacturing refer to different processes.
• Repair and refurbishment are about bringing a product back to a working condition and
making sure it will function, whereas remanufacturing brings the product back to a like
new condition. Remanufacturing is the "rebirth" of a product.
REMANUFACTURING

Four reasons why remanufacturing creates business value:
• It allows manufacturers to learn about the performance of their product in the market, and
improve subsequent product versions (informational value).
• It saves on material and manufacturing costs. For instance, remanufacturing allows
manufacturers to use remanufactured components for service and repair, instead of more
expensive new components (sourcing value).
• It allows manufacturers to lower their ecological footprint and control the end-of-life of
their products (environmental value).
• It is a great value for customers, as they get high-quality, as-new products for a reduced
price (customer value).
REMANUFACTURING - BUSINESS VALUE

How remanufacturing is a large and generally untapped opportunity for business.
• Access and performance business models (in other words: use oriented and result
oriented models) make remanufacturing more feasible, as the company retains ownership
and control over its products.
• Product design, business model and supply chain are closely linked. A successful
remanufacturing business addresses all three.
• And that website address: http://www.remanufacturing.eu/
REMANUFACTURING OPPORTUNITY

Remanufacturing is a large and generally untapped opportunity for business.
• Access and performance business models (in other words: use oriented and result
oriented models) make remanufacturing more feasible, as the company retains ownership
and control over its products.
• Product design, business model and supply chain are closely linked. A successful
remanufacturing business addresses all three.
• And that website address: http://www.remanufacturing.eu/
REMANUFACTURING- UNTAPPED

Remanufacturing at the start of new product development into account may save a great deal of
money later in the product's life.
• Thinking about remanufacturing upfront, during product design, can make the
remanufacturing process more efficient and thus save a great deal of time and money.
• There is not much scientific knowledge available on the engineering and business aspects of
remanufacturing. Remanufacturing is considered more 'art' than 'science', which is a missed
opportunity.
• Design engineers tend to focus on new product design and seldom consider that products
could be given a second life through remanufacturing.
• The remanufacturing and manufacturing industries should work closer together. This will
improve the quality of newly designed products.
REMANUFACTURING

Remanufacturing still faces considerable barriers:
• Remanufactured products can be perceived as inferior by customers.
• Embedded electronic components make remanufacturing more difficult.
• Trade barriers sometimes hinder the transport of non-functioning products or components to
be remanufactured across borders.
REMANUFACTURING - CHALLENGES

Recycling :
• Increasingly, recycling companies like Coolrec regard themselves as raw material suppliers
instead of recycling companies.
• In the project mentioned by Arjen Wittekoek, Coolrec extracts cast iron parts from Miele
washing machines and delivers these back to Miele for reuse in their new washing
machines. Miele is a German producer of household appliances.
E.g. Gwen Cunningham is Lead Project Developer of the Circle Textiles Programme . The
mission of the Circular Textiles Program is to close the loop in the area of fashion and textiles.
RECYCLING

A recycling process has the following steps: (1) Collection, (2) Sorting and (3) Processing.
• 1. Collection
• Discarded products or materials are collected through, for example, curb side collection or
drop-off centers. The products and materials are transported to recycling facilities.
• 2. Sorting
• Sorting materials by type is important to keep recycling rates high. There are many different
sorting activities, depending on the kind of waste. Sometimes (part) of the sorting is done by
hand, sometimes it is an automated process.
• 3. Processing
• Once sorted, the products or materials are processed to retrieve the raw materials, and the
raw materials are then used in manufacturing recycled-content products.
• The method of processing varies for different materials. Many products need to be shredded
to extract the basic elements or raw materials (e.g. fiber in paper). Glass, aluminum and
steel need to be melted into a liquid form and then remoulded into new products.
RECYCLING

Fashion industry ( 2nd most pollutive industry after oil)
• The production of textile fibers is land, energy and water intensive.
• Most of the used textiles are thrown out with household waste, which means these textiles
are incinerated or landfilled. Only a tiny amount is recycled.
• Textiles recycling is actually 'downcycling': used textiles are processed into rags or insulation
materials.
• Closing the loop for textiles would allow industry to better capture the embodied value of the
textile fibers.
• The market introduction of Fibersort technology will provide recycling companies with access
to textiles with a known fibre composition. This will make it easier to recycle textiles, instead
of down cycling them.
RECYCLING

RECYCLING
Business models and fashion design
The fashion industry and fashion designers have an important role to play when it comes to
creating Circular Fashion.
• The fashion industry is taking the first steps towards a more circular approach by aiming to
produce and sell as much as it collects and recycles.
• Innovative business models such as access models, where clothes are loaned or leased,
may help.
• Fashion designers need to consider design for disassembly.

NATURE INSPIRED DESIGN
The Entropy carpet tile was inspired by autumn leaves. The idea of "random design" inspired
the development of a non-directional carpet tile, with varied patterning and colouring. Individual
carpet tiles can be replaced without the need to re-carpet the entire room.
Circular Economy is about closing resource loops, mimicking natural ecosystems in the way we
organize our society and businesses. For designers, nature is a wonderful source of inspiration.
In this unit you are introduced to real-world examples of nature inspired design projects. In the
assignment that follows, we ask you to think about the way nature may inspire you to solve
specific problems you may face.
Interface is the world's largest designer and maker of carpet tile. Flora Poppelaars of TU Delft
interviews Geanne van Arkel, Head of Sustainable Development at Interface. Geanne talks
about the development of the Entropy carpet tile - a design inspired by nature.

NATURE INSPIRED DESIGN
According to Michael Pawlyn, the most important principles to take into account are:
• Taking a long view. How do buildings change and how can they be turned into new buildings
over time?
• Bringing people and technologies together in ways that are mutually beneficial.
• Interface is striving to become a restorative company.
• Its efforts go beyond the 'resource' dimensions of the Circular Economy, to also focus on
social dimensions.
Through his architecture Michael Pawlyn tries to mimic ecosystem models. This takes him into
relatively uncharted territory for an architect. In the design of his biomimetic office, for instance,
he was inspired by nearly a hundred different biological organisms to address some of the key
functional challenges.

RECYCLING
Waste equals Food is addressed because the discarded fishnets serve as 'food' (raw material)
for new carpet tiles. The fishnets become part of a new cycle of use. Building resilience through
diversity is addressed when Geanne talks about the way Interface rebuilds its facility in Europe
in order to become more flexible and take in a variety of material streams. Resilience is defined
as capable of dealing with change while continuing to develop. An example of Think in Systems
is the aim of Interface to develop 'ecosystems' and partnerships, where not just Interface, but
everyone benefits from collaboration.
The "good disruption" Martin refers to is based on three pillars:
abundant clean energy,
a circular material system, and
a high-productivity regenerative system.

THINKING IN SYSTEMS
• It is unlikely that the world will run out of metals in the foreseeable future.
• Metal supply can, however, become critical, for instance, because of geopolitics.
• One of the potential benefits of the circular economy is that we can start using our above
ground urban mines, instead of geological mines. This ‘urban mining’ may be an important
element of the circular economy.
• Producing metals is energy intensive. Global metal production uses 7 to 8 percent of the
total global energy production.
• Metal demand is expected to rise - for instance because of worldwide urbanization and a
shift to renewable energy systems.
• The energy intensity of metal production is rising, because of declining ore grades (grade =
concentration of metal in an ore).
• The only really effective solution to reduce energy intensity is to recycle metals in a Circular
Economy.

THINKING IN SYSTEMS
• Urban mines are the above-ground stocks of metals (as opposed to the underground stocks
of metal ores).
• Presently, there is almost nothing known about these urban mines. Exploring urban mines
means collecting a lot of information. How large are these stocks, where are they, when will
they become available? What is their composition? How concentrated are the metals in the
urban mines? Can we extract them easily and economically?
• urban mines are a relatively new idea, and why we should know more about them. For
instance, did you know that our old phones constitute an 'urban mine' full of precious metals?

THINKING IN SYSTEMS
• Urban mining makes clever use of the materials that are already there. This reduces the
need to extract new materials and reduces the amount of waste. Urban mining can be a
valuable part of the Circular Economy.
• Exploring the urban mine requires careful planning. We should for instance:
• Develop new recycling technologies that enable us to retrieve metals from complex
waste streams.
• Design products in such a way that they can be taken apart easily, so we have cleaner
waste streams.
• Design materials in such a way that they can be recycled more easily.

THINKING IN SYSTEMS
Complexity of achieving a closed-loop system for aluminium.
• In order to create a circular economy for aluminium, the demand will need to stabilize. Currently,
aluminium production is still growing exponentially. This demand will probably level off in the
future.
• Assuming that we have a stable demand, we'll also need an aluminium recycling rate that is close
to 100%, in order for the inflow of aluminium to equal the outflow.
• As long as the demand for aluminium grows, we will not be able to close the loop. The supply of
recycled aluminium will not be able to cover the demand for new aluminium.
• Over time, as the demand stabilizes, we may reach a circular economy for aluminium. Models
show that this may take 100 years – under optimistic assumptions.
• The good news is that it will happen, almost by itself. The bad news is that there is little we can do
to speed up this process!

THINKING IN SYSTEMS
What changes need to be made in society to reach a Circular Economy.
• The environmental benefits of a circular economy for aluminium are enormous. In the model, we
see the energy requirements for aluminium are only 50% of the current level.
• In spite of the long time horizon, we need to start developing a circular economy infrastructure
already now.

NARRATIVES
1. A circular economy is an economy in which all ends are connected; just like nature.
• Waste becomes food.
• Out of order becomes functioning.
• Outflow of materials becomes inflow.
• Geological mines become urban mines.
• All with respect to the environment.
2. A Circular Economy is giving materials identities Knowing them, remembering their history and
giving them the basic right to exist.
• By truly identifying these materials we acknowledge their existence
• and will stop neglecting or killing them prematurely.
• A product allows materials to thrive as a group and be of use to human existence
• but once they are disassembled, they retain qualities that are of enormous value.
3. Circular Economy is an economy that does not begin with the manufacturer and end with the
consumer, but is an endless loop between these (and more) parties.
This means the resources which take energy to extract might only be available in limited amounts,
but are not lost at the end of the line, but are kept in the system.

Summary - Circular economy course by Technical University of Delft

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