Cities & the circular economy

Hi all,  Cities are an important catalyst in the transition to a circular economy. They account for 75% of natural resource consumption and produce half of global waste. They are also responsible for 70% of greenhouse gas emissions. As the world is increasingly urbanized, cities will continue to play a more and more important role in the global economy, which is still at this time a ‘take – make – waste’ linear model that has significantly contributed to complex problems like climate change. Cities are therefore uniquely positioned to lead the transition towards a global circular economy. 

 As a reminder, the circular economy is an alternative economic model in which economic activity is decoupled from resource consumption. The circular economy mimics living systems in that flows of materials, energy, knowledge, capital, and data are not wasted but recirculated back into the overall system. A circular city, then, is one with interconnected sub-systems (e.g. transit, waste, buildings, products and services, fashion, food) that are designed to be regenerative.

Circular city leaders rethink and reimagine material and energy flows in urban areas in a way that is far less wasteful. Circular cities are based on three core principles: -       Design out waste and pollution-       Keep products and materials in use through durability, sharing, and repair-       Shift to regenerative resources (e.g. from fossil fuels to renewable energy)  There is an interesting report published by the National Zero Waste Council in Vancouver called Circular cities: A scan of global approaches and key takeaways for Canadian local governments. This report is not only for Canadian municipalities, though, as it includes examples from leading European cities including Brussels, Paris, Glasgow, and Rotterdam. An example of a circular city initiative is Rotterdam’s ‘Street Lab’. They give space to businesses that experiment with circular economy innovations like recycled road materials and street fixtures. The report also includes best practices for circular cities and recommendations for adopting a circular city approach in your municipality. 
To learn more about circular cities, you can review the Ellen McArthur Foundation’s webpage here. To read the National Zero Waste Council’s report, click here (third link from the bottom).