MRF > Environment > Technical Issues > Recycling

TECHNICAL ISSUES

RECYCLING

Recycling is an integral part of a "life-cycle economy." But recycling is only one way of achieving environmental benefits - dematerialisation of the production chain, eco-design of products, cleaner production, and more rational consumer choices (sustainable consumption patterns) together join the recycling option in bringing a set of approaches that lead to a sustainable future for modern society.

Recycling in the sustainable development agenda needs to be based on a scientific, quantitative assessment of the options, where both the product to be recycled and the recycling technologies are evaluated. Recycling has its own environmental costs that must remain less than the undoubted benefits of raw materials conservation that it brings. For products, the greater use of Life-cycle Assessment (LCA) can throw light on the recycling options and implications of major consumer and industrial products [1]. And, in this regard, it is important to remember that for individual products, even those labeled "recyclable", recovery will only occur if a collection system is in place. For most products such a system still has to be created. Ultimately, recycling will only contribute to sustainable development if we achieve a closer link between product design, manufacturing and marketing phases of a product.

Recycling of industrial wastes can also make a bigger contribution than it does now. In-plant recycling is a part of the cleaner production approach. Off-site, the concept of Industrial Ecology has long advocated a more holistic approach where the overall system of energy, materials and waste flow is optimised among a dispersed group of companies or operations. There are already examples of closed loop systems where secondary raw materials from a variety of operations constitute the feedstocks for neighboring industries, which in turn provide energy or materials for other parts of the system. This calls for a new role for the recycler who can assist in establishing an integrated, collective approach to raw materials management of companies from the outset.

How to put these ideas into practice? Greater consciousness on the part of both industry and consumers and more thoughtful product design, and an effective collection system can certainly improve recycling options for individual products. Business should also consider its manufacturing wastes more seriously as a source of secondary raw materials across the industrial system, rather than simply as a disposal burden on individual companies.

Adoption of a more life-cycle responsibility is at the heart of such a new approach. Different parts of the product chain, including recycling, need to have stronger functional links with each other. Large vertically integrated companies have already gone some way down this road, but we have not sufficiently explored how the many medium and small players can be linked, and how governments and business associations can foster such an approach.

The concept of recycling needs to eventually evolve beyond simply aiming for the best technology for individual wastes. A systematic evaluation process needs to come into more common use to reveal exactly where recycling is beneficial for society overall (and where it is not), and where to adjust the social and industrial management systems to ensure that optimum recycling does in fact take place.

[1] Life Cycle Assessment: What is it and How to do it? UNEP, 1996.