Lead the way for other economic sectors in shifting from linear to circular resource efficiency

Our economies need to shift from being linear to circular. A linear economy is one that extracts resources, produces products, consumes them, and then disposes of them, creating a system of emissions and resource use. A circular economy creates a system that aims to keep products, components and materials in the economy for as long as possible, in an effort to eliminate waste and virgin resource inputs. This kind of system change requires using recycled secondary materials instead of virgin raw materials, designing products to be robust and repairable so they last longer, and using materials more efficiently, for example, through increased material productivity.

There are different tools for countries to incentivise this change - such as facilitating the trade of scrap materials, removing import bans - in addition to Extended Producer Responsibility requirements - holding producers responsible for products at the end of life, product take-back requirements, and advanced disposal fees. Product take-back requirements typically set recycling or collection targets for a given product or material, e.g., the European Union’s Waste Directive for Electronic Waste. Likewise, advance disposal fees (ADFs) are charged at the time of purchase, ideally, to cover the costs of collection and treatment of the product. When the ADF is transparent to the consumer, it may influence both consumer and manufacturer behaviour.

EXPLORE FURTHER

Initiative: Re-circle - resource efficiency and circular economy (2019).

Report: Extended Producer Responsibility: Updated Guidance for Efficient Waste Management, OECD (2016).

Report: Policy Guidance on Resource Efficiency, OECD (2016).

Case study: Policies for a Carbon Neutral Industry in the Netherlands