The B-Side of Circular Economy

Julio F. Campos

The circular economy for some years has been emerging as an alternative proposal to the current production model being embraced by a growing number of governments and companies.

Its concept is to introduce into the production system feedback mechanisms similar to those existing in natural systems, eliminating the linear explore-produce-discard characteristic in favor of a structure based on reuse and recycling cycles, thus reducing both the volume of discarded waste and the of exploited natural inputs.

Basic model of the structure of the Circular Economy

Encompassing different initiatives, such as cradle-to-cradle, biomimetics or industrial ecology, in this scenario the environment would cease to be a mere reservoir of resources/waste, but an adjunct to the economic process, providing proposals for the development of sustainable economic solutions.

However, when we have in mind the finite characteristic of our planet resources, for the circular economy to effectively achieve its goals three particular questions must be asked:

• Feedback: How its feedback system is designed and what should be addressed for it to work?

• Processes inputs/outputs: How the system is considering the numerous inputs/outputs from its various processes?

• “External” systems: How the circular economy system is design to interact with other adjacent systems?

Why those questions matter and why the reader should ask them will be explained as follow.

The Feedback

Although the circular economy relies on the proposal to use feedback mechanisms inspired by living systems, the notion that the inclusion of feedback cycles in the productive system in the sense of resource feedback demonstrates a fundamental error in understanding the functioning of living systems, i.e. Complex systems.

Complex systems are not characterized by their internal cycles of feedback, but by the characteristic that they have, as a result of the set of their interactions, to control the operation of the system itself. Thus, rather than providing mechanisms for internal cycling of resources (by resources means energy + matter), the feedback system is responsible for the operational stability of a given system.

Linear system, feedback and control
feedback

When considered on a non-global scale, living systems depend not only on their internal feedback controls but are also controlled by interactions with other systems in their environment (direct interaction) or not (indirect interaction). This means that external availability to the system of resource deposits or disposal is factors of control feedback acting in conjunction with the internal mechanisms, ensuring the correct operation of a given system.

This characteristic, however, is a consequence of a fundamental element derived from the evolution of natural systems which determines that, on a global scale, these are in fact integrated subsystems of a single system whose main characteristic is to be, in our temporal scale, closed.

It is essential that the correct distinction is made: Although on a non-global scale these subsystems operate as open complex systems, on a global scale they are mere components of a single closed complex system whose evolution has determined the evolution of its subsystems. This understanding is critical because in the analysis of local production systems it should not be forgotten that, on a non-local scale, these systems are not really open.

These two characteristics, having internal and external control feedback while composing a larger closed system, are not considered within the typically local EC proposals, since these are focused only on the maximum maintenance of the internal recycling of matter, ignoring that:

• There are no systems external to the economy to provide resources/absorb waste and;

• The most important feedback are not related to recycling/feedback, but to the control of system operation.

This is clear when it is observed that, considering that the EC operates at its thermodynamic efficiency limit, it does not present proposals to eliminate neither the demand for "external" resources to the system or an "external system" to absorb the waste, independently of the volume demanded or generated; either because they are thermodynamically or economically impossible to eliminate.

These demands stem therefore from its proposal to reduce the consumption of resources/emission of waste, but not the volume of what is produced, thus maintaining the traditional internal structure of the economic cycle. Since, as defined by the Jevons' paradox, the reduction in the consumption of natural resources is linked to the non-increase of the consumption of the products derived from them, we know that the maintenance of the social patterns of consumption makes any attempt of environmental benefit derived from the irrelevant economic action, presenting itself as a palliative.

Processes inputs/outputs

EC proposals also rely on the idea of minimum resource mobilization and minimum export emissions (solid, liquid or gaseous). Here, the problem that is observed in the presentation of the concept lies in the fact that each stage of a given production process has its own demands for resources/disposal to be operational.

Energy / matter flows at each stage of a given production process.

 As a consequence, each stage of the process implies depletion of resources and increase of waste, particularly entropy and, consequently, an increase in the consumption of resources and emissions when considered the process in its total scale.

In this way, the consumption/disposal is not characteristic of the production chain, but they are dispersed throughout their chain and must be properly accounted for in order to determine their net result. Thus, final product consumption control mechanisms must be applied in each process, under penalty of to eliminate the benefits obtained by the fall of consumption in one step by the increment in another.

"External" systems

As shown, living systems are part of a broad and closed system. Although on a local scale a certain production system can be considered, openly, import/export resources/wastes, the integrated set of all production systems is a component of a closed system, which limits the operation of its subsystems. Thus, the import/export feature of an open system can only be considered if and only if it is not ignored that it is subordinate to the ability of adjacent systems to provide/absorb the resources/residues of a given system.

So, even if conceptually the idea of the existence of external systems can be accepted, it is paramount to keep in mind that such systems affect and are affected by the operation of the analyzed system, not ignoring that in the last resort all are in fact a single system.

The circular economy will come up with a welcome proposal to deal with the environmental crisis, it should be kept in mind that by not focusing primarily on the issue of consumerism, its proposals cannot go beyond mere palliatives to the current situation, in a great aggravating factor of the same.


Suggested reading


Was this article interesting to you?
Please, share your experience with us bellow.