IEMA Circular Economy Roundtable with MP Deirdre Costigan

The UK’s transition to a circular economy could cut its material footprint by 40% and its carbon footprint by 43%. However, this shift requires robust policy and fiscal incentives from the government to move away from the current linear economy.

The roundtable brought together members of IEMA’s Circular Economy Network Steering Group, green think tanks, and industry leaders to explore challenges and strategies for developing a circular economy framework in the UK.

Recycling and Its Role

Recycling, while vital for preventing waste, is not a panacea for circular economy ambitions. Recycling diminishes the inherent value of materials (e.g., concrete recycled as aggregate) and still requires virgin resources and energy for recovery processes.

The group identified several barriers to effective recycling:

• Confusing labelling that hampers consumer understanding of proper waste segregation.
• Behavioural challenges, as consumers are not always motivated to separate waste correctly.
• Insufficient investment and regulation in the waste sector, which has contributed to a £1 billion illegal waste industry in the UK.

Reducing New Material Consumption

Global resource consumption has reached unsustainable levels, with over 100 billion tonnes consumed annually. Recycling addresses only a symptom of the linear economy; broader measures are needed to reduce reliance on raw materials.

Key discussion points included:

• Combatting design obsolescence: Many electronic goods are deliberately designed to become obsolete, leaving consumers no choice but to replace devices.
• Developing metrics: A resource productivity metric could guide economic decisions by evaluating materials’ whole-life value.
• Promoting industrial symbiosis: Encouraging cross-industry collaboration to reuse resources can reduce consumption, waste, and costs while lowering carbon emissions.

The Built Environment’s Role

The built environment is responsible for 60% of the UK’s material consumption and waste. Small changes in this sector could yield significant carbon and biodiversity benefits, as 50% of global carbon emissions are tied to material use in construction, manufacturing, and transportation.

Policy changes could drive a shift to circularity in construction, such as:

• National Circular Economy Statements: The Greater London Authority mandates such statements for major developments, but no equivalent exists nationwide. Implementing this requirement could embed circular principles in planning processes.
• Incentivising retrofitting: Reducing VAT on retrofit projects, as proposed by the Builders Merchants Federation, could stimulate refurbishment over new builds, improving energy efficiency and reducing waste.
• Streamlining waste regulation: Current regulations, such as classifying displaced soil as waste, hinder material reuse. Simplified processes could enable resource exchange and reuse.

Without supportive legislation and investment, achieving a truly circular built environment will remain challenging.

Labour’s Plans for Circular Economy

The new Labour government plans to introduce measures such as a Deposit Return Scheme and Extended Producer Responsibility to address barriers. While their effectiveness remains to be seen, practitioners must continue to advocate for legislative changes and promote best practices.

Pick Everard’s Experience

At Pick Everard, helping clients transition to circular approaches often encounters obstacles, such as a focus on upfront costs and programme timelines. However, with time and collaboration, projects can embrace circularity, achieving material savings, cost reductions, and carbon benefits.

Quantifying these benefits is crucial in the absence of legislative drivers. Demonstrating whole-life value can shift industry culture, although change is slow. Given that humanity has breached six of nine planetary boundaries, time is of the essence.

Simple measures, like mandating circular design considerations in planning and reforming waste legislation to facilitate material exchanges, could accelerate progress and build evidence for circular business cases.

Supporting Circular Economy Initiatives

Are you ready to start your circular economy journey? Pick Everard’s experts, Tim and Jonny, can guide you in implementing practical and measurable circular economy strategies tailored to your projects. Contact us to learn more.