Rather the conventional "Take, make, consume and dispose" this type of economy is the one which will help find a value in the most absurd of waste products. This reduced the reliance on rare materials and at the same time it also reduced the waste and pollution being cycled back in to the environment caused by the extraction of raw materials.

1. MSW&
Waste to energy in the
Context of circular
Economy &energy
Recycling
Sakthivel S R
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2. What we’re discussing today
 Its not going to be about MSW,
 It’s not going to be about waste to energy either,
 Instead this presentation is going to be about circular
economy.
 Defining a circular economy,
 Its key principles,
 Benefits of circular economy,
 Its major roadblocks and
 Can India become a circular economy?
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3. Why tune me in?
 From a business and common sense point of view, it does
not seem to make sense to grow cotton using large amounts
of water, fertilizer and pesticides; go through complex
ginning, spinning and weaving processes that require energy
usage; and then pay for the disposal of the cotton at a
landfill, where the material has no use other than filling up
landfill space.
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4. Defining a circular economy
 Rather than the conventional “Take, make, consume and
dispose” this type of economy is more oriented towards
decoupling economic growth and resource constraints.
 In more technical terms, it can be defined as- a smarter,
more regenerative and restorative way to create, use and
dispose of products that designs out waste from this cycle.
 This reduces the reliance on rare raw materials and at the
same time it also reduces waste and pollution being cycled
back in to the environment ( caused from the extraction to the
manufacturing process).
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5. Source- European environmental
agency
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6. Key principles
 Understand that everything in the economy has its own
value.
 Find ways to reuse the waste materials.
 Try and eliminate toxic substances (if present) from being
reused.
 Design out from waste.
 Design it in such a way that you can disassemble all the
pieces.
 Use a renewable source of energy in making the new design.
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7. Key principles
 By using a renewable source of energy,
 We reduce the embodied energy of the new product and
 Might reduce the cost of the product too.
 The most important one in addition to the above mentioned
ones, is the ability to design the material in such a way that it
can be reused again, so that the cycle may keep going.
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8. Benefits of a circular economy
 Reduces pressure on environment,
 Minimizes the high and increasing demand for import of raw
materials thus reducing the country’s vulnerability,
 Would result in the reduction of the overall price of
commodities,
 Thus leading to the increase it the competitiveness among
industries and thus,
 Increase in job opportunities.
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9. Major roadblocks
 The major setback to the concept of circular economy are as
follows,
Technological aspect- The lack of the BAT in the market,
Financial aspect – The inability to buy the BAT,
Institutional aspect – Policies and other basic groundwork,
Regulatory problems- lack of any bodies to govern the
overall process.
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10. Can India become a circular
economy?
 No. Not at the rate at which we are doing the things that we
aren’t supposed to do. But on second thoughts, we just
might.
 We are a population of 1.2 billion that is generating 62 million
tones of garbage on a daily basis. If we use even 20% of it, it
can lead to the reduction in the import of raw materials.
 By passing out policies, laws and other regulations as
mentioned above, we will be able to force the various
industries to developing the circular economy on their own
Data from MNRE, India
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11.  The major areas where the laws can focus on are as follows,
 Authorized vendors for disposal of waste, so that the
disposer, at any time, can know where the waste is being
used.
 Try and develop a closed cycle recycling process rather than
an open cycle one which can lead to the down-cycling of the
quality of the material to be reused.
 Design modifications, as mentioned above.
 Collaboration across industries.
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12. A methanol run society
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Carbon is
captured
Forms CO2
and H2O
Methanol
synthesis
Electrolysis
to form H2
Renewable
source of
energy

13. Thank you
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14. References
 CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN INDIA: RETHINKING GROWTH
FOR LONG-TERM PROSPERITY – Ellen Macarthur
Foundation.
 European environmental agency
 www.isb-global.com/circular-economy-in-india/
 cmr.berkeley.edu/blog/2015/11/circular_economy/
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