First steps towards sustainable waste management

Abstract

Waste management started off as a public health issue. Today, the waste business is an important force in developing sustainable development and circular economy. New policies and regulations represent an opportunity for circularity, but there is still a long way to go in achieving a truly circular economy. The Circularity Gap Report 2020 indicated that the global economy is only 8,6 % circular. Industrial ecology and material flow analysis are important tools, not only for developing local and regional waste solutions, but also in the development of new global circular business models. In the Ålesund region, new sorting measures have increased recycling, from 32 % in 2017 to 45 % in 2019. New measures will be needed to reach national targets set for 2025. As the current global use of resources is unsustainable, and as current waste business models are insufficient to achieve circular economy, the next decade is likely to experience a rapid innovation of new business models challenging traditional waste management companies. This chapter presents data collected during a case study conducted in 2020.