H&M, other clothing makers launch a circular economy trend. The fashion sector is taking a lead on disruptive "circular economy" business models.
"The new business models we're seeing emerge hold the key to unlocking value and creating supply/demand-side competitive advantage through the circular economy. " That is the view of Peter Lacy, managing director of Accenture Strategy for the Asia Pacific region. Talking from Tokyo as part of Accenture's Sustainability 24, Lacy said at least five business models are coming to the fore: Circular inputs: new ways of thinking about the inputs and the raw materials. Output recovery: recovering useful resources from products that are discarded. Eva Karlsson, CEO and creative director of Houdini Sportswear, highlighted how her company has tapped into the circular economy to grow its business. She added that the business is also looking at reuse, repair and rental business models for its products: "Rental is the best example of how we are pushing boundaries. Top image by martin951 via Shutterstock. Durable goods recycler MBA Polymers expanding in US, relocating R&D.
Image By: MBA Polymers Mike Biddle, president of global plastics recycler MBA Polymers Inc.
MBA Polymers Inc. plans to expand operations in the U.S. while moving R&D to the United Kingdom. The recycler is closing its R&D facility in Richmond, Calif., because the plant is too small and the lease is up, said President Mike Biddle. The pilot-scale, 43,000-square-foot plant was MBA's first facility and serves as the company's headquarters. MBA is making the move because Europe does more recycling than the United States and offers more opportunities, at least in the short-term, Biddle said in a July 2 webinar on China's "Green Fence" operation. MBA already has a 126,000-square-foot plant in Worksop, England. According to MBA, the Worksop plant is the "largest and most advanced plastics recycling plant in the world" that focuses on recovering plastics and rubber from shredder residue.
MBA plans to build full processing plants in the U.S. once it develops sufficient U.S. sourcing. Durable goods recycler MBA Polymers expanding in US, relocating R&D. Could China's 'green fence' prompt a global recycling innovation? China sent shock waves through the global recycling market this year when it announced it would no longer be accepting poorly sorted or dirty shipments of recyclable waste from foreign exporters.
It's estimated that more than 800,000 tonnes of recyclables or scrap have been rejected since February via Operation Green Fence, China's first major campaign to enforce its stringent waste quality legislation. This has caused chaos at some ports, where Chinese customs officials conducting rigorous checks have suspended the import licences of 247 companies. As western exporters scramble to ensure the commercial viability of this dynamic market, worth $5bn (£3.2bn) annually in plastic scrap alone, will this new crackdown prompt a wave of sustainable recycling innovation in the west?
The Garbage Man. In December 2001, American environmental activist Jim Puckett traveled to the town of Guiyu in southeast China to look for old computers. He’d learned that electronic waste from the West was finding its way to Guiyu, and the place apparently wasn’t what it used to be. For centuries, residents of Guiyu’s four villages had scratched out a living farming rice along the Lianjiang River. When Puckett arrived, one of the first things he saw was a man riding a bicycle stacked 15-feet high with computer keyboards. Puckett followed him to a village and, like Alice tailing the white rabbit through Wonderland, he discovered an upside-down world almost cartoonish in its horrors.
Towering piles of monitors, printers, and fax machines lined streets and occupied front yards. Villagers explained that Guiyu now specialized in recycling electronics, or e-waste, and that truckloads arrived around the clock from the port city of Nanhai five hours away. You want to see a car get shredded in 20 seconds?” Trash or Treasure? - RT - Recycling Today. As Rep.
Gene Green prepares to reintroduce the Responsible Electronics Recycling Act, a recent study says such legislation would generate numerous jobs in the U.S. However, the proposed legislation still has detractors. Electronics are part of our everyday waste stream. Many government officials say they feel the improper disposal of such devices presents a risk to both American jobs and to the world’s environment. To that end, a bill known as the Responsible Electronics Recycling Act (RERA) was introduced in Congress as HR 2284 in June 2011 by Texas Rep. The measure is either a gold mine for domestic recyclers or a disaster for those who deal with electronics reuse whether in the United States or abroad.
The big selling point for supporters of HR 2284-style legislation is the number of domestic jobs that could be created. Peters-Michaud says there may be some modifications in this year’s version of the bill, which already has 28 co-sponsors. “It does not try to undo RCRA. Trash or Treasure? - RT - Recycling Today.