Please visit my web page "Urban Tenets" at https://urbantenets.nl/
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The concept of circular economy has existed for a long
period of time, but primarily in an industrial context, like Eco-Industrial
Park and Waste to Energy plants. Circular economy principles in the case of
industries are usually known as #IndustrialSymbiosis or #IndustrialSynergy and
use two approaches i.e., first, the waste of one industry can be used as feed
for another industry, and second, industries are co-located based on their
compatibility. Waste from one industry like process waste water, slag,
petcoke, sludge, packaging waste, scrap material, process heat, etc. can be
used by other industries in several forms like cement production, fuel, space
heating, composite material, nutrient extraction, etc., and essentially helps
keep the material and energy in a closed loop; also stopping waste from going
to landfill sites. In Waste to Energy plants, Electricity or Hydrogen is
generated through a process called plasma gasification, using waste as raw
material including municipal solid waste or agricultural waste like (rice
husk, and palm tree waste) or industrial waste (like petcoke) or
mix of these. Sometimes waste enrichment is required to achieve the specific
calorific value of waste before conversion to energy.
Recently there has been a lot of focus on the application of
circular economy principles in urban areas. Application of circular economy in
the urban area is usually based on the following principles i.e., either
"being resource efficient in construction "or "minimizing
waste generation" or "reusing waste" or "keeping
the material in the loop for a longer duration" or "high-value
use of components at the end of first life" or "through
the #SharedEconomy"
like the use of Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS). Circular transition in the
built environment can be achieved by effective and enhanced reuse of old
construction material (through urban mining and use of material passport), use
of new circular composite materials (building, pavements, street
furniture, etc.), process heat capture (from utilities like from
power plants, waste treatment plants and public amenities like an ice rink),
generating waste to energy (from municipal solid waste), generating
manure and extracting valuable elements from sludge (sewage and wastewater
treatment plant), community repair initiatives, etc.
The construction sector in specific utilizes circular economy
principals through a multitude of measures like circular buildings construction
especially focusing on the reuse of construction material components from
redevelopment projects or other decommissioned projects (high-value
harvested component usage, deconstruction), use of biobased materials (used
in building construction, interior, and finishes), efficiency during the
design of buildings using Building Information Modelling (BIM) and
Digital Twin, circular procurement of raw construction material, contracting
innovation for post life cycle management of the building, etc. While research
on the utility of circular economy concepts in building construction has
advanced recently, there has been limited research, understanding, and
awareness of the use of circular economy principles in the urban infrastructure
sector. The circularity in the infrastructure sector can be achieved at several
stages including, pre-design, design, procurement, execution, operation
and maintenance, and post-life cycle management. The infrastructure sector
utilizes several measures to achieve circular transition including intensive
reuse of construction material Resource optimization, modular construction
elements, use of sensors to predict the remaining functional life of infrastructure
and predictive maintenance, process heat capture and reuse, extraction of
valuable material from waste and waste to energy, etc.
The use of concepts of circular economy in the construction
and infrastructure sector is a novel but promising area and becoming
indispensable in achieving self-reliance, sustainability, and resilience in
cities. The #Netherlands is
at the forefront of #circulartransition and
has come up with a national circular economy transition vision [3] that aspires
to reduce the use of primary raw materials by half till 2030 and to be
completely circular by 2050; many cities like Amsterdam, Rotterdam, etc have
come up with their specific measurable goals and circular action plans showing
their commitment to circular transition. Continued innovation, a
multidisciplinary approach, industry-wide #collaboration,
and #knowledgesharing is
required for achieving a circular transition in the construction and
infrastructure sector.
Author: Anoop Jha
Image: Author
Statistics source:
[1] Circle Economy. (2023). The circularity gap report 2023.
Amsterdam: Circle Economy.
[2] Eurostat (online data code: env_wasgen)
[3] Government of the Netherlands
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[Recent update
Starting 2024, launching urban management, interior design, home decor and commissioned artwork services in the Netherlands, serving local as well as international remote clients.
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Please visit my web page "Urban Tenets" at https://urbantenets.nl/
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#CircularEconomy #IndustrialSymbiosis #IndustrialSynergy #MaterialPassport #UrbanMining #CircularProcurement #ProcessHeatRecovery #WastetoEnergy #MaterialInnovation #BiobasedMaterial #Circulartransition #builtenvironment #urbanplanning #urbanmanagement #Rotterdam #Hague #Utrecht #Netherlands
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