Do We Have the Right Performance Indicators for the Circular Economy?: Insight into the Swiss Waste Management System

Abstract

A material flow analysis of the 2012 Swiss waste management system is presented, highlighting the material content available from waste. Half of municipal solid waste (MSW) is materially recycled and the other half thermally treated with energy recovery. A key component of an industrial ecosystem is increasing the resource efficiency through circulating materials. Recycling rates (RRs), an indicator for the circulating behavior of materials, are often used as measure for the degree of circularity of an economy. This study provides an in-depth analysis of the recycling of paper, cardboard, aluminum, tinplate, glass, and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) from MSW in Switzerland by splitting the RRs into closed-and open-loop collection rate (CR) and RRs. Whereas CR refers to collected material that enters the recycling process, RRs measure the available secondary resources produced from recycling processes. For PET, the closed-loop CR of 45% and the open-loop CR of 40% compare to an RR of 31% and 37%, respectively (including exports and recycling of polyethylene and metals from collection). Official collection rates for paper and cardboard are very high (97%), whereas CR of 74% and 89% and RR of 59% and 81% for paper and cardboard, respectively, were found in the present study (including export). For a majority of the separately collected materials investigated, the rates that are determined are substantially lower than those that are officially communicated. Furthermore, given that official rates often do not provide information on the availability of secondary materials, the improvement potential for increased resource recovery is hidden. Keywords: circular economy closed-loop industrial ecology material flow analysis municipal solid waste open-loop Supporting information is linked to this article on the JIE website

Closing the loop on platinum from catalytic converters: Contributions from material flow analysis and circularity indicators

“…More interestingly, the results illustrate and put the emphasis on important facts reveals by Haupt et al. () in the management and transition toward a more circular economy through recycling rates.…”

“…For this reason, the CE action plan of the EC (, June) calls for harmonized indicators in order to manage the proposed targets for the recycling and reuse of materials—for example, within the EU Raw Materials Information System (RMIS), launched at the end of 2017, to help coordinate other EU‐level data and information on raw materials (Mathieux et al., ). In line with Haupt et al., , be clear on which rate (e.g., whether CR, EOL‐RR, or RC) is used, measured, and communicated is a key starting point to monitor the contribution of waste management to a CE in an integrated and meaningful manner. For instance, the RC appears as a good measure of the circular use of CRM in the contribution of recycling to meet the materials demand in the EU (Deloitte Sustainability, ). Second, collection rates (CR) are often communicated, reflecting the input into the recycling system, but give neither an adequate picture of the available quantity of secondary resources produced that become effectively available (EOL_RR) nor indicate about the final destination of these materials, showing the actual contribution of secondary materials to initial demand (like the RC indicator does).…”

“…Indeed, comparing different recycling rates in a CE context at different scales—notably at the macro scale (regions, countries) of the CE implementation—Haupt et al. () conclude that the currently used rates are not suitable as a performance indicator for a CE for three following key facts that are summarized and discussed hereafter: First, recycling and circularity rates do not share one common definition, for example, at the European scale between member states. Because of the inconsistent definition of national recycling rates, some current rates used are not comparable.…”

Measuring Progress towards a Circular Economy: A Monitoring Framework for Economy‐wide Material Loop Closing in the EU28

“…A Swiss study of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles, tinplate, aluminum, paper and cardboard, and glass reveals that actual recycling rates are substantially lower than reported in official statistics (Haupt et al. ), and the authors expect similar differences in other countries. Thus, the EU28's continuous efforts towards a CE calls for improvements and harmonization in statistical reporting.…”

“…While the basic idea of the CE is intuitive and convincing and the notion is widely used in policy documents, the assessment of progress towards a CE is an issue of ongoing debate (EASAC ; Haupt et al. ; Kovanda ; Hashimoto et al. ; Yuan et al.…”