The Circular Economy: How Waste Management Companies Are Driving Circular Thinking
It’s no secret that we’re facing serious environmental challenges. 2023 was the hottest year on record, and 2024 is expected to match or surpass it. Biodiversity loss is accelerating, with wildlife populations falling by two-thirds since 1970. And air pollution is now the leading cause of premature deaths globally, with 9 out of 10 people breathing polluted air.
The circular economy is an innovative way to tackle these ecological crises by changing how we consume and dispose of natural resources. It encourages us to think differently about how we produce, use and dispose of products, with the aim of extracting as much value as possible from every single resource.
In this post, we’ll explain how the concept of the circular economy works and why it’s so vital to protecting the environment. We’ll look at how the waste & recycling sector is playing a significant role in adopting and promoting circular thinking – and how PIN can play a part.
What is the circular economy?
The circular economy is a hot topic when it comes to environmental and sustainability initiatives. According to the Circularity Gap Report 2024, “the volume of discussions, debates and articles on the concept has almost tripled over the past five years.” So, what is this radical idea – and how will it help us tackle our environmental challenges?
In simple terms, the circular economy is a new way of thinking about how we use and dispose of natural resources. It contrasts itself with the traditional, familiar approach, known as the linear economy:
The linear economy is the take-make-waste pattern that we have traditionally followed. In this approach, we extract resources from the environment, which are then turned into products. These products are used for a period of time until they are then discarded – often while they still have some value. This is a one-way process that turns natural resources into waste products at an ever-faster rate. As such, it is inherently unsustainable.
The circular economy, by contrast, finds ways to take the end-point of this process – the waste product – and convert it back into something that has value through reuse, recycling and other approaches. This not only limits the amount of waste we generate, but also reduces the rate at which we are depleting the planet’s finite resources.
Put simply: while the linear economy converts raw materials into waste, the circular economy finds ways to turn waste back into resources. By doing so, it helps us to alleviate a wide range of environmental issues, from climate change to biodiversity loss.
Why is the circular economy important?
While many of us now recognise the urgency of tackling climate change and other environmental challenges, it is still easy to underestimate the scale of the undertaking. In fact, it seems that widespread awareness has yet to translate into the kind of action needed.
Despite the growing attention to the concept of the circular economy, the Circularity Gap Report noted that “share of secondary materials consumed by the global economy has decreased from 9.1% in 2018 to 7.2% in 2023.” Meanwhile, the United Nations Environment Programme predicts that global resource use will grow 60% between 2020 and 2060.
Needless to say, this is bad news for the environment. The extraction and processing of raw materials accounts for 18% of the EU’s consumption-based greenhouse gas emissions. It is also a key driver of other environmental threats – an astonishing 90% of biodiversity loss is caused by resource extraction.
By enabling us to extract more value from natural resources and limit the waste we generate, the circular economy gives us a chance to turn the tide. In recognition of this, the UK government has embraced the transition to a circular economy as part of their commitment to reducing waste. The government is currently aiming to reduce residual waste to 287 kg per capita by 2042 – almost half of the 558 kg generated in 2022 – and has adopted a circular economy strategy to make this a reality.
Let’s explore how big of a part the waste & recycling sector is playing in embracing circular thinking.
The circular economy in waste management
The waste & recycling sector plays a significant role in supporting the shift toward a circular economy. By helping to reduce the 14 million tonnes of waste sent to landfill in the UK, waste management companies have boosted their sustainability credentials, attracted eco-conscious customers, and secured a range of business benefits.
To get a sense of how the sector is helping to drive the transition to a circular economy, let’s look at some prominent success stories within the industry:
Biffa is an industry-leading waste management company exploring innovative ways to reduce waste using advanced technologies like AI, robotics and the Internet of Things (IoT). Their recent work with Northern Trains used sensors to provide real-time recycling volumes from individual bins, helping Northern to measure and improve their recycling efforts.
Enva is a leader in resource recovery solutions. Their approach to sustainability highlights the importance of transparency and data. They offer a comprehensive 2024 sustainability roadmap outlining a range of strategies for contributing to the circular economy, while their low-carbon product assessments allow them to identify and limit the environmental impact of their products.
Cireco is one of Scotland’s most forward-thinking providers of waste management solutions. They have pioneered the use of robotics to sort recycled waste, as in their recent collaboration with Fife Council. By using advanced computer vision technology, the robots were able to automatically identify and remove recyclables from the waste stream.
These examples show how technological innovations and data-first solutions are helping waste management companies to adopt a circular approach. They also show how important partnerships are to achieving this kind of transformative impact.
How PIN is supporting the circular economy transition
Here at PIN, we’re committed to understanding our customers’ circular business model and helping add to it through their skip operations. PIN was designed with the intention of helping waste management companies extract the most value out of existing resources, which is why our solution aligns perfectly with the circular economy.
PIN is the only digital tracking solution dedicated to skip operations. We help our customers increase sales, reduce costs, and improve customer service and compliance. PIN was built by industry experts for industry leaders. We’re currently partnered with all three of the circular economy pioneers we mentioned above, alongside a range of other industry leaders, including the NWH Group, Fresh Start Waste, Beauparc, Sims Metal, Powerday, and Fletchers Waste Management.
By adopting PIN’s digital tracking technology, the waste & recycling sector will benefit from clear, accurate and up-to-date data for skip operations.
With PIN’s help, waste management companies can reduce unnecessary skip purchases, limiting resource consumption and receiving the most possible value from existing skips. And with real-time, automated visibility of operations, alongside detailed KPIs and analytics, waste companies can optimise routes and improve productivity. Improving transport efficiency means fewer miles on the road and less fuel burned by vehicles. PIN also analyses vehicle routes and alerts users to any delays or deviations, allowing companies to respond and adapt at pace.
"PIN has a key part to play in our circular business model. The very exciting endgame of the PIN system is having an ultimate view of container profitability."
Andrew BakerCIO, The NWH Group
The future is now
Ultimately, at PIN we believe that accurate, real-time data is vital to tackling the climate crisis and embracing circular thinking. We aim to help the waste & recycling sector visualise operations, streamline processes, and track performance – all in a powerful, fully digitised and automated way.