By Harshraj Thakor, MBA Candidate, and Mikaela Hondros-McCarthy, MBA Candidate UMass Boston
On April 3, 2017, the UMass Boston Center for Sustainable Enterprise and Regional Competitiveness (SERC) hosted an open event focused on opportunities and challenges for businesses adopting circular economy business models and incorporating zero waste practices. It is estimated that the circular economy stands to provide $1 trillion in economic opportunity along with social and environmental benefits, and this event highlighted examples of some of those opportunities.
Vesela Veleva, faculty in the Department of Management, moderated the discussion of five panelists:
John Fisher, Branch Chief, Commercial Waste Reduction & Waste Planning, Mass DEP
Lina Azuero, Principal Program Manager, Global Supply Chain Sustainability, Dell
Chris Lucarelle, Area Director Recycling Operations, Waste Management
Gavin Bodkin, Co-Owner/COO, Circular Blu
Dana DeVeau, Executive Director, The Furniture Trust
John Fischer discussed the aim of reducing 80% of municipal solid waste (MSW) going into landfill by 2020. Mr. Fischer explained about three types of waste streams, residential, commercial, and construction & demolition (C&D). Community outreach by explaining waste characterization will play an important role in reducing waste in all three streams. The Organic Waste ban adopted by MassDEP in 2014 has seen the reduction of 50,000 tons of food and organic waste diverted from landfill into composting and anaerobic digesters while at the same time generating $46 million in labor income, $77 million in gross state product and approximately $175 million in industry activity in Massachusetts. MassDEP also does an outreach program to train and help contractors and third-party inspectors with C&D waste and recycling.
Lina Azuero highlighted opportunities for Dell Technologies and their takeback program for end-of-life items that can be remanufactured and rebranded into new products. Dell partners with Goodwill to collect such products from consumers for free; products and items that could not be remanufactured are recycled or down-cycled. Between 2014 and 2016, Dell successfully repurposed over 10 million pounds of post-consumer plastics and launched the first computer made with such plastic – OptiPlex 360 as part of its Legacy 2020 Plan. Ms. Azuero explained how shifting from engineered plastics to standardizing plastics could enhance the potential for remanufacturing and help create closed loops in their product life cycles.
Chris Lucarelle was able to provide details on the economics of recycling from the collector/processor perspective. In 2016, Waste Management had processed 14 million tons of residential recyclables, invested $1 billion in infrastructure, and operated 104 facilities in the US, commercial and dual stream plants. Some challenges around recycling include changes in product packaging and shifts from metal and glass towards blended plastics, which unfortunately have no reuse market. The shift towards lightweight plastics also affects the way goals are set and measured. This perspective helps to identify opportunities for the market to think about the recycling process and infrastructure when determining which plastics to use. Standardizing packaging is critical for advancing the circular economy.
Gavin Bodkin spoke about Circular Blu, a company he co-founded that identifies blue wrap used in every hospital to sterilize surgery utensils and repurposes them. This 100% polypropylene material would have otherwise been thrown out and taken to landfills or incinerators. Circular Blu collects in Boston and Colorado and aims to keep materials in communities and maintain the value of materials. The manufacturing is currently done in Lowell, and Circular Blu sells back to hospitals and corporations like Johnson & Johnson, thereby creating closed loops which are especially beneficial to hospitals that face increased pressure to have less waste and keep green solutions.
Dana DeVeau discussed the Furniture Trust, a non-profit that is hired by larger companies to evaluate furniture for donation to local non-profits and schools. In 2016, $3 million of furniture and supplies was donated to local recipients such as Providence and Boston Public Schools, and 326 tons were diverted from waste streams.
The event concluded with a discussion of the current challenges and growth opportunities in product reuse, remanufacturing, and waste repurposing. Scaling up market-driven changes will require the collaboration of numerous stakeholders, such as large companies, entrepreneurs, governments, NGOs, and academic institutions. Greater transparency and reporting of current practices can further help advance information flows and create pressure to identify more sustainable options. Lastly, the need for government leadership in shifting its procurement policies and helping de-link profits from resource consumption is critical for extending products’ useful lives and promoting the circular economy. With its research and educational programs on Clean Energy and Sustainability, UMass Boston is leading the way and preparing students for future opportunities in the circular economy.