What is Circular Economy? Discover a proposal that encourages sustainable production and consumption

The circular economy is marked by the circularity of waste. The idea is that the product that would be burned or thrown away returns to the chain as a new item or serves as raw material for the production of another consumer good. An old tire, for example, can be used for the production of carpets, shoe soles or granulated rubber which, in turn, serves as raw material for the manufacture of floors for sports courts.

According to Patrícia Guarnieri, PhD in production engineering from the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), with a postdoctoral degree in circular economy at the University of Bologna, in Italy, the circular economy is a new model of production and consumption, which focuses on sustainability . It is an alternative to the so-called linear economy, which is characterized by raw material extraction, production, consumption and disposal.

A bill that creates the National Circular Economy Policy is being discussed in the Federal Senate. Authored by the Environment Commission (CMA), the PL 1874/2022 aims to encourage public authorities, the private sector and consumers to adopt practices that prioritize the non-generation, reduction and reuse of waste.

Rapporteur of the bill, Senator Jaques Wagner (PT-BA) says that the proposal was born at the Ecological Generation Forum, which operated at the CMA between 2021 and 2022, and brought together 42 representatives, from academics to industrialists.

“When we talk about a circular production chain, we are looking from the birth of the raw material, which keeps the forests standing, to the reuse of what, today, we call garbage. When we reach this level of circularity, it means that we are going to have a more developed country, with more technologies and at the same time sustainable”, he believes.

Jaques Wagner explains that the circular economy is not a proposal that is restricted to cities. “It will be able to work, whether in the countryside or in the cities. For example, in the countryside, we can produce inputs for industries to replace materials and products that today come from oil. That is, we can make plastics, chemicals in general, originating from plants and fruits of the our biodiversity. At the same time, after these materials are used, their reuse chair needs to be well built, making recycling, use as fertilizer and even energy possible”.

Do you know what circular economy is? Discover this new model of production and consumption

Instruments

The bill establishes some instruments to encourage the transition from the linear economy to the circular economy. The text proposes the creation of the National Circular Economy Forum, a collegiate body composed of authorities and representatives of the productive sector and civil society. It would have the role of drawing up action plans, raising awareness and mobilizing society to discuss the necessary initiatives to promote the circular economy.

The proposal now includes an article in the Administrative Tenders and Contracts Law that requires that the bidding process for the purchase or contracting of goods and services by the public administration, including engineering services, must follow the principle of sustainability.

The text also suggests that the incorporation of sustainability requirements, considering the purchasing power and costs, also starts to appear among the objectives of the bidding process. According to the rapporteur for the bill, Senator Jaques Wagner (PT-BA), public authorities need to be at the forefront in the transition to a circular economy.

“We must set an example, encouraging the hiring of companies through sustainability requirements, reuse and, obviously, purchase price. At the same time that we set an example to society of the commitment of public agents, we encourage companies that want administration the adoption of ecologically correct systems”, he hopes.

Another pillar of the proposed National Circular Economy Policy is the Just Transition Mechanism (MJT). The MJT would work to support the regions and sectors most affected by the transition to the new production and consumption model. In the case of high-carbon industries, the mechanism should support changes to use low-carbon technologies. For that, it would have to create attractive conditions for investment; facilitate access to loans and financing; invest in the creation of startups and in research and innovation activities.

“Companies need adaptation; professionals, training; consumers, awareness. It is to create legal and tax mechanisms that encourage the market to adapt and minimize the negative impacts on the generation of work, employment and income, without burdening the production chain” , explains the senator.

For Guarnieri, the industry will be important for the transition towards the circular economy. “The industry plays an essential role in promoting the return of waste so that it can be reinserted into its own production process, as well as into other production processes. It is in the industry that the main innovation initiatives arise. So the industry will have to look inward and analyze its product and find ways to innovate so that it can do it in a more appropriate way, so that it generates less waste at the end, less energy resources.”

source of funds

The PL says that the government will have to encourage research, development and innovation of technologies, processes and new business models that encourage circularity.

According to the bill, 30% of the resources of the Innovation for Competitiveness Program and 20% of the annual income of the Social Fund would be applied in initiatives aimed at the circular economy.