21.05.2021
Blog: In the same boat – circular economy and Northern Ostrobothnia
According to Sitra's definition, the circular economy is an economic model that does not continuously produce more goods, but instead uses services instead of owning them: sharing, renting and recycling. The idea behind the circular economy is that materials taken from nature – which have already been refined to meet the needs of humanity – will remain in use and in the economic system for as long as possible. Economic growth therefore does not depend on the consumption of natural resources.
As a concept, the circular economy is not new. The idea originated in the 1960s and was first mentioned as a word in 1966. The concept was made famous by Lady Ellen MacArthur, a world record-holder solo sailor who woke up to the finiteness of natural resources when she lived on her boat's limited cargo for 71 days while sailing around the world in 2005. He founded the foundation bearing his name in 2010 and, together in cooperation with experts, developed the now-known circular economy model, which became, among other things, the cornerstone of the EU Green Deal. The circular economy model developed by the Foundation introduced ideas such as industrial ecology, the cradle-to-cradle thinking model and the service economy.
The idea of industrial ecology is that the waste of one is the raw material of the other. Finland and our region can be proud to be a forerunner in the recovery of waste and by-products from the technology industry. The result is even better processed products than natural products, such as the record-breaking eco-concrete developed at the University of Oulu. Utilising industrial by-products is also a climate action, and there is a lot of potential in Northern Ostrobothnia when there are large companies and larger waste streams and research supporting it. One possibility would be, for example, the development of the Laanila industrial area into an eco-industrial park.
The idea behind the cradle-to-cradle thinking model is that after use the product becomes easily reusable or can be completely recycled. This can be supported by planning in which biological nutrients (sataorontically decomposing) and so-called technological nutrients (100% recyclable) are not mixed. For my pleasure, I noticed that Wikipedia offers life cycle thinking, utopia and entropy as a similar idea. Lots of truth in everyone, but entropy or ‘disorder’ is a very good observation. The laws of thermodynamics do not support 100% recycling. However, the main idea is that products must be designed for recycling or reuse. A good example of this in Finland is the recycling of deposit bottles, which combines design that supports recycling, a deposit that motivates consumers and an advanced infrastructure. Consumers play an important role in promoting recycling. Mixed waste sorting studies carried out by the Circular Arc showed that there is far too much recyclable material in the incinerated waste, up to 75 per cent. One third of this is food and the rest is packaging, plastic and paper. However, packaging should not be blamed for this, as it is only a sign of (over)consumption. It can be said that Finland has a very good recycling system, but its weakest link is the consumer himself.
Perhaps the most fascinating idea of the circular economy is the sharing economy. Why buy expensive items that you rarely use if you can borrow them? There are many good examples of this in the world and also in Finland; Libraries and rental companies as parents. In recent years, services have become more electronic and the sharing economy has moved to the Internet. Listening to audiobooks and streaming movies online. The sharing economy is even seen as one of the economic successes of the pandemic: food is ordered online, videoconferences are held and movie streaming services save the evenings. The sharing economy is growing in popularity and is particularly enjoyed by the prosperous middle class. On the other hand, the pandemic also highlighted the downsides: The CO2 emissions of the Internet exceed those of air travel, food home delivery increases the number of single-use packaging and social inequalities become visible. The benefits of online services are also spoiled by overconsumption, when you watch videos instead of listening to music and each family member watches a different channel in a different room. Finland is one of the world's leading countries in mobile data transfer per capita.
The pillars of a sustainable sharing economy – and the circular economy in general – are a paradigm shift, planning and moderation. To this end, one of the objectives could be to promote repair services and reuse. This requires both smart product design and responsible consumption habits, as well as functional digital platforms. Oulu's high level of ICT expertise offers excellent business opportunities for this, in the development of applications and services in the sharing economy and platform economy. However, let's keep in mind what the final goal is: an economy based on a reasonable consumption of natural resources, which guarantees the well-being of society.
Eva Pongracz,
Professor at the Water, Energy and Environmental Engineering Research Unit of the University of Oulu
The article is part of the blog series of the Regional Programme for Northern Ostrobothnia - views and insights on development.
