Ecoblogi – A Blog by Daniel Elkama

The buzzword of the moment is circular economy. I am convinced that we can achieve an almost closed circular economy in the future. The Club of Rome stated in the 1960s that the Earth has limits, and that we have exceeded these limits. This is true. The Earth’s carrying capacity has been severely exceeded and stretched to the limit. However, the positive thing is that in the coming decades we will be able to recycle almost everything.

Previously, there were fears that quartz sand, which is used to make glass, concrete and asphalt, would run out as consumption increased. However, science and technology developed and now in Finland and many other countries over 95% of concrete and asphalt are recycled, and almost 100% of glass. Virgin quartz will not need to be mined in the future.

Growing technology requires more and more minerals and mines. Often, mines are unsustainable, destroy nature and pollute people’s drinking water and living environment. However, there is a point where we don’t need any more minerals, but simply recycle old minerals. This will put an end to mining. Mineral recycling is already a more profitable business than mining.

All this has been made possible by increased energy production. We have unlimited energy available in the sun, wind, waves and geothermal heat. If we had unlimited energy at our disposal, we could crush and heat minerals and other materials so much that their original chemical structure returns. We could turn concrete back into sand, for example.

The exception is plastic, which can only be recycled about 5 times. Plastic is a substance that does not occur naturally in nature and therefore ecosystems cannot process plastic. Plastic and microplastics are a huge problem, especially in the oceans, where it kills millions of marine organisms every year. Plastic is also harmful to human health. Another problem with plastic recycling is path dependency: when plastic is recycled, alternative solutions are not sought. Paper and cardboard cannot replace disposable plastic, because the world’s forests and especially their biodiversity are disappearing. If plastic is recycled, it is OK and better than not recycling at all, but in the long run it is not a sustainable solution.

The most sensible thing to do is to switch to bioplastics, which are obtained from the leaves and stems of crops, such as corn and grain. Edible plant parts should not be used in bioplastics. Sustainably produced bioplastics are completely biodegradable.

It is also a good idea to replace plastic with, for example, wood, when possible. For wood products that are long-lasting, it is sensible to use wood, such as the yo-yo in the picture, which I received as a prize as a child when I was a WWF panda seller. Using wood for single use is generally not sensible. Only 5% of wood goes into sustainable products, 90% is bulk and disposable.

It is possible to achieve a circular economy in which we recycle everything. This requires a large-scale increase in renewable energy.

Daniel Elkama