Presentation delivered by Glen Murray at the Resource Recycling Conference in St. Louis, MO in October of 2018.

1. Building The
First Circular
Economy
Measure Twice,Cut Once
RE-TracConnect
October 22, 2018
St. Louis, Missouri
G L E N M U R R A Y
S T R A T E G I C A D V I S E R
E M E R G E K N O W L E D G E D E S I G N

2. Excess Consumption: Exhausting Natural Resources

4. The Age of Acceleration
Thomas Freidman
.

5. Would we have believed 25 Years ago that a billion people
could create new products & communicate with each other
through a small hand sized device

6. Mountains of Waste Cell Phones

8. Supply declines &
demand grows
The global demand
for raw materials will
increase during the
next 20 years
Energy + 32 %
Steel + 57 %
Water + 137 %
Farmland 200 % +

9. 47% of produced food goes to waste
in value chain.
On average, 40% materials (in Europe)
are used only once.
The average occupancy rate of cars is
about 8 %
10-15 % of building materials goes to
waste during construction.
Kari Herlevi: Why do we throw away 80% of
Consumer Products?

10. The Circular
Economy &
Waste Free
Ontario Act
Bill 151
Waste Diversion
Goals

11. Linear to a Circular Economy

12. The linear economy
dysfunction
1
We have externalized
much of our production
of goods to countries
with high emissions to
benefit from low labor
costs
2
Fossil fuels and
resources are shipped to
these countries to
manufacture goods
3
We then import those
emissions as embodied
in those goods
45% of all our emissions
are embodied in the
goods we consume
4
It all moves around
powered by fossil fuels

13. Consumption-based emissions (carbon footprint)
USA and EU28 are net importers of embodied emissions, China and India are net exporters.
Consumption-based emissions are calculated by adjusting the
standard production-based emissions to account for international trade
Source: Peters et al 2011; Le Quéré et al 2017; Global Carbon Project 2017

14. Major flows from production to consumption
Flows from location of generation of emissions to location of
consumption of goods and services
Values for 2011. EU is treated as one region. Units: MtCO2
Source: Peters et al 2012

15. Major flows from extraction to consumption
Flows from location of fossil fuel extraction to location of
consumption of goods and services
Values for 2011. EU is treated as one region. Units: MtCO2
Source: Andrew et al 2013

16. Plastics
POSSIBLE SCENARIOS

17. The plastics case study
Consumption of plastic products and
packaging generated 3.84 million tons
of plastic waste in Canada in 2016
Plastics recycling in Canada (2017):
We only recovered 8.5% of the
waste plastic generated by
Canadians – we disposed of the rest
We exported 56.6% of collected
plastic to China and Hong Kong
(much of it mixed and
contaminated). We don’t know how
much of that was actually recycled

18. Circular economy
Make renewable
plastic from
synthetic
photosynthesis
Carbon dioxide
from the ambient
air + hydrogen (split
from water using
solar energy) to
produce plastic
Reuse plastic
products and
packaging
Recycling
Mechanical
recycling of plastic
back into products
and packaging
Chemical recycling
of plastic chemical
building blocks for
making new plastic
The entire
system powered
by renewable
energy

20. A new plastics
economy
Substitute knowledge, technology, human ingenuity
and labor (circular economy) for waste, resource
consumption and greenhouse gas emissions (linear-
fossil economy)
Maximizing the enormous value plastics deliver to
society – all the benefits none of the costs
Zero waste (to land and to oceans)
Net zero greenhouse gases
Scale efficiencies and innovation will mean lower long-
run costs to consumers
More, not less jobs

21. Aluminum
POSSIBLE SCENARIOS

23. Aluminum
Re-processing

25. Product-life extension: Products are used according to their original purpose for as
long as possible or repaired and refurbished for multiple re-uses, thus reducing
the need for purchasing and manufacturing new products.
Sharing platforms: Digital-based platforms are used to promote the increased use
of goods and resources and the extension of their life cycle, such as by renting,
selling, sharing and re-use.
Product as a service: The customer pays for certain functions or performance and
avoids the risks of ownership. The total costs of ownership remain with the service
provider, with revenue being earned by means of, for example, a leasing or rental
agreement.
Resource efficiency and recycling Technological development enhances resource
efficiency in value chains, processes and products, and allows for more effective
recycling. Side-streams are valuable raw materials for recycled products and
materials.
Renewability: Renewable, recyclable and biodegradable materials, as well as the
principles of eco-design, are preferred for products and their design. Fossil fuels
are replaced by renewable energy. *SITRA