Every time we throw out our trash, what we are actually throwing away is money and time. Money, because each item we are tossing out has value that we are giving up on. Time, which is spent extracting new materials to meet our needs while squandering the potential of the resources we are disposing of. And in the process, we are consuming resources way faster than the Earth can handle, perpetuating a cycle of waste that depletes our planet’s finite resources.
Far from zero waste
Take plastic: on average, in OECD countries, only 9% of plastic waste gets recycled. The rest will meet a grim fate: 57% ends up in landfills; 29% is incinerated; and 6% gets dumped in uncontrolled sites. By 2060, recycling will contribute less than 0.1% of the global economy, while our demand for biomass, fossil fuels, metals, and non-metallic minerals will more than double. The relentless extraction and processing of material resources already account for over 55% of global greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and 40% of the health issues related to particulate matter.
GHG emissions from material use
Note: Time series of global climate change impacts split by material resource group (including cultivation/extraction and processing) and downstream use (remaining economy and households). The black dashed line shows a global annual CO2-budget consistent with global climate targets. Source: International Resource Panel (2024), Global Resources Outlook 2024
And we are paying the price of inaction and inefficiency
In 2020, the global cost of managing waste was estimated at USD 361 billion per year, surpassing the GDP of Colombia. This figure includes not only the direct cost of waste management but also the indirect expenses related to pollution and deteriorating public health. Without swift and decisive action, these total costs could double by 2050. Plastic pollution alone is inflicting around USD 75 billion in damages to marine environments every year. For instance, in Durban, South Africa, plastic debris leaking into the Umgeni River is sweeping away around USD 600 000 per year in lost tourism revenue. Other costs include clean-up expenses, damage to infrastructure, health complications, and depreciation in property values.
From waste to worth, garbage to goldmine
Cities worldwide are shifting from a “take-make-waste” linear economy to a circular one, focussed on reducing waste, preserving resources, and revitalising nature. Paris (France) gives subsidies to recycling centres and supports non-profit projects devoted to reuse and repair, such as “Repair Cafés”. In Germany, Frankfurt’s bonus system is targeting under-occupied housing by incentivising tenants to downsize when their needs change. This curbs the need for new construction and helps optimise use of the housing stock.
In Australia, the Bayside City Council’s “Library of Things” initiative encourages residents to borrow items rather than buying them, fostering a culture of resource sharing and consumption reduction. In Brazil, the City of São Paulo is leading a project called “Connect the Dots” to support local farmers in adopting regenerative agricultural practices that protect natural systems threatened by urban expansion and traditional farming methods.
It is estimated that applying a circular economy approach to the construction chain in the city of Amsterdam would slash GHG emissions by half a million tonnes of CO2 per year. In London, UK the benefits from circular approaches applied to the built environment, food, textiles, electrical appliances and plastics could reach GBP 7 billion every year by 2036.
Globally, a circular economy model, which decouples waste generation from economic growth by preventing waste and prioritising sustainable business practices, could result in a net gain of USD 108 billion per year. It’s high time global policy-makers recognise the potential of mitigating future resource use, and avoiding waste altogether – the International Resource Panel’s Global Resources Outlook 2024 shows the human wellbeing, as well as economic, gains this could bring.
No time to waste!
Despite these potential benefits, let’s face it: the journey towards circular economy is fraught with complexities. While cities are leading the charge, they are also wrestling with many challenges including adapting regulation, securing innovative financing, and dismantling entrenched cultural norms.
Only “bold policy action” can speed up the circular change we need and catalyse social acceptance.
Join the conversation on accelerating the circular economy in the European Union at the 6th OECD Roundtable on the circular Economy in Cities and Regions during the World Circular Economy Forum (18 April 2024), co-organised by the OECD, the European Commission’s Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI) and the European Investment Bank. Register here: https://circular-cities-and-regions.ec.europa.eu/events/cities-regions-getting-ahead-circular-transition-wcef2024-accelerator-session
Co-Chair of UN Environment International Resource Panel, Dr Janez Potočnik was Minister Councillor at the Slovenian Prime Minister’s Cabinet and Minister for European Affairs. In his capacity as European Commissioner for Environment (2010), he provided a fundamental contribution to the establishment of the Circular Economy agenda. From April 2016 he has also been a Partner of Systemiq. He is member of the Advisory Board of the European Commission Circular Economy in Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI). For his dedication to the circular eocnomy he recieved noumerous awards, inlcuded the United Nations' 2013 Champions of the Earth Award for the Efforts to Promote Resource Efficiency and Reduce Food Waste in European Union; the Fortune Award for Circular Economy Leadership; the Hans-Carl-Von-Carlowitz-Award for courageous, open minded, and international work for the idea of the circular economy in Europe. Dr Janez Potočnik holds a Ph.D. in Economics.
Oriana Romano is the Head of Unit, Water Governance, Blue and Circular Economy, Urban Policies, and Sustainable Development Division of the OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities. In 2018, she initiated a Programme on the Circular Economy in Cities and Regions, which supports governments in developing and implementing circular economy strategies. She heads the OECD Water Governance programme, which she joined in 2013. Before the OECD, she was university lecturer in Environmental Economics at the “Centre for International Business and Sustainability”(CIBS), London Metropolitan University (London, United Kingdom) and the Department of Social Science of the University “L’Orientale”(Naples, Italy). She currently teaches “The Transition to the Carbon Neutral and Circular Economy in Cities ”at Sciences Po, Paris, France. She holds a Ph.D in “Institution, Economics and Law of Public Services”.