small_iclei.png

thumbnail_iclei.png

iclei.png

Circle Economy and ICLEI have partnered up to initiate the go to knowledge hub of case studies about the circular economy in cities. The Cities Collection is a repository of case studies that demonstrate the role of cities in the circular transition, and includes policies, business cases and research articles. Cases in the Collection flow into an ecosystem of digital products which support users in transitioning cities to circularity, for example [Ganbatte](https://ganbatte.world/cities/) and <a href="https://circulars.iclei.org/" target="_blank">ICLEI Circulars</a>, both part of the <a href="https://circulars.iclei.org/circle-lab-for-cities/" target = _blank">Circle Lab for Cities Programme.</a>

large_Circular-City-Actions-Framework-infographic-scaled_gray background.jpeg

medium_Circular-City-Actions-Framework-infographic-scaled_gray background.jpeg

small_Circular-City-Actions-Framework-infographic-scaled_gray background.jpeg

thumbnail_Circular-City-Actions-Framework-infographic-scaled_gray background.jpeg

Circular-City-Actions-Framework-infographic-scaled_gray background.jpeg

Circular Cities

large_eugene-kuznetsov-swmakc2l4EM-unsplash_2.jpeg

medium_eugene-kuznetsov-swmakc2l4EM-unsplash_2.jpeg

small_eugene-kuznetsov-swmakc2l4EM-unsplash_2.jpeg

thumbnail_eugene-kuznetsov-swmakc2l4EM-unsplash_2.jpeg

eugene-kuznetsov-swmakc2l4EM-unsplash_2.jpeg

Business case

Impact on the availability of resources as well as their effect on living organisms, ecosystems, and components of the environment.

Ecological Impact

Impacts on the social fabric of the community and well-being of the individuals and families.

Social Impact

Impact on increased knowledge and understanding as a result of the case study

Increase Awareness

Impact on the ease of innovation, and facilitating uptake of innovations

Innovation

Producing building materials and providing services to create residential and non-residential infrastructure and real estate


Construction and Infrastructure

Providing residential and non-residential construction services, such as architectural, engineering, planning, real-estate, contracting, and inspection services

Construction and Real Estate Services

Work together throughout the supply chain, internally within organisations and with the public sector and communities to increase transparency and create joint value

Team up to create joint value

Industry peers to industry peer collaboration to create joint value and identify synergies

Industry collaboration

Engage with the local community where facilities or offices are located

Community collaboration

Working together with industry peers to engage in business activities or exploratory projects that advance the circular economy

Joint industry ventures, projects, pilots

Working together with the community and engaging them in the company operations

Joint product development

'Manage' influences the use and function of physical and material elements within the urban environment. 

Manage

Infrastructure

 Spatial Planning

Living labs

Compact city development

Develop circular criteria for public procurement of assets

Do better with less by using and supporting infrastructure, processes and products that are designed to minimize material, water and energy use and waste generation from production to end of use


large_5R_Reduce.png

medium_5R_Reduce.png

small_5R_Reduce.png

thumbnail_5R_Reduce.png

5R_Reduce.png

Reduce

Ensure that infrastructure and built assets in the city are designed and upgraded to be as resource-efficient as possible.

Design infrastructure and the built environment for resource efficiency

Put enablers in place that allow circular businessesto grow, thrive and innovate (e.g. incubators, start-up funding, partnerships, innovation deals, business capacity building and testing groundsfor new business models).


Support circular and resource-efficient business innovations

The built environment, including housing, commercial buildings, and the necessary infrastructure for mobility, is essential for our livelihoods, but:
- the extraction of minerals used to produce construction materials is responsible for a quarter of global land use change,
- approximately 40% of global GHG emissions can be attributed to buildings’ construction, use and demolition, and
- construction and demolition processes drive nearly one-third of all material consumption. 

Making the built environment more circular must prioritise a heavy reduction in material use—while also closing the loop on materials and bringing secondary and renewable material choices to the fore. Our four key solutions for the built environment are:
- Make the most of what already exists: Make the most of existing materials by reusing, repurposing, upgrading and renovating following circular approaches. Where new builds are needed, use secondary materials and be as efficient as possible with urban planning solutions that follow circular design principles so that buildings can be reused, repurposed, and easily disassembled in the future.
- Be as energy efficient as possible: From the design phase, utilise circular strategies to create material- and energy efficient buildings. Couple these designs with a rollout of clean energy solutions, and prioritise energy-efficient appliances and retrofitting. 
- Utilise secondary materials: Maximise the high-value reuse of buildings and components where possible. Ideally, enable the utilisation of construction and demolition outputs and ensure that as much of it as possible is recycled to avoid the need for virgin materials, such as sand and gravel.
- Prioritise circular materials and approaches: Transition to using renewable wood, timber or cross-laminated timber instead of steel and concrete, or move to other locally available materials. Utilise mainstream modular construction and prioritise lightweight frames and structures to reduce cement and steel use, as well as green roofs where possible.



🏢 Built Environment

Businesses

Impacts

small_climate-4803653_640.jpg

thumbnail_climate-4803653_640.jpg

climate-4803653_640.jpg

Industries

small_coast-wind-turbine-sea-sky.jpg

thumbnail_coast-wind-turbine-sea-sky.jpg

coast-wind-turbine-sea-sky.jpg

A framework of policy instruments that enabled and encourage the transition to the circular economy

Policy Instruments

medium_image-20160922-22514-1aqaw5j.jpg

small_image-20160922-22514-1aqaw5j.jpg

thumbnail_image-20160922-22514-1aqaw5j.jpg

image-20160922-22514-1aqaw5j.jpg

A framework of policy instruments that enable and stimulate the transition to the circular economy

The principles of a circular economy concern designing out waste, regenerating ecosystems and keeping items in use. Decoupling the economy from material flows—improving the rate of resource productivity faster than the economic growth rate—is also a consistent guide. By evolving with the growing number of applications of circular economy principles, and consolidating these strategies across thematic areas, Circle Economy’s Key Elements Framework (KE) renders the elements of the circular economy salient and serves as a basis to derive contextual strategies and interventions. 


The Framework consists of:
- Core Elements: Activities directly handling product or material flows; and uniquely,
- Enabling Elements: those that remove obstacles for core actors.


Key elements of the circular economy

large_photo-1515534238346-fb9ae3e399d0.jpg

medium_photo-1515534238346-fb9ae3e399d0.jpg

small_photo-1515534238346-fb9ae3e399d0.jpg

thumbnail_photo-1515534238346-fb9ae3e399d0.jpg

photo-1515534238346-fb9ae3e399d0.jpg

Circle Economy's framework of strategies and activities that define the circular economy

The Circular City Actions Framework provides urban changemakers with five complementary strategies they can use to start working towards a more circular system. 

The framework is action-based to provide users with concrete strategic directions and showcase the desired outcomes of each strategy. 
The framework consists of five complementary **strategies**, under which **sub-strategies** provide further detail. Finally, each sub-strategy consists of a diversity of tangible **solutions** which are framed in relation to key thematic areas. 

Note: solutions are currently focused on:
- 🍏 **Food systems**
- 🏢  **Built environment**
- 👕📱  **Consumer goods**
- ⚡ **Energy Systems**
- 🚌 **Mobility Systems**
- 💧 **Water Systems**

More thematic areas are coming soon...

'Click through each of the five strategy cards below to explore the framework and circular economy case studies in more depth!'



This framework was developed in collaboration with ICLEI, Metabolic and Ellen MacArthur Foundation with support from the MAVA Foundation. Read more about it [here]( https://circulars.iclei.org/action-framework/). 



Circular City Actions Framework

An action-based framework for local governments working towards circular cities

Thematic Areas

City Stakeholders

![Screen Shot 2024-10-21 at 16.53.12.png](https://goldilocks-images.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/Screen_Shot_2024_10_21_at_16_53_12_12858da6aa.png)

Based on the work of [Bocken et al. (2016)](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/309699661_Product_design_and_business_model_strategies_for_a_circular_economy), the Four Flows Framework serves as a simple framework for managing resource flows in a circular economy by using less (Narrow), using for longer (Slow), using again (Cycle), and using clean, regenerative materials and energy (Regenerate).

These different principles of circular economy can be applied to our socioeconomic metabolism: we can design stocks like buildings, infrastructure, machinery, and vehicles to be rich resource mines for the future, and design manufactured goods and consumables to be cycled and made regenerative. Furthermore, the focus must also centre on getting more value out of fewer materials. Achieving the aims of a circular economy—minimising material use, regenerating the Earth, and preventing material losses—can be done through these four key strategies mentioned above.

Source: Circle Economy. (2023). *[The circularity gap report 2023](https://www.circularity-gap.world/2023)* (p.22). Amsterdam: Circle Economy. 

Four Flows Framework

medium_Screen Shot 2024-10-21 at 16.53.12.png

small_Screen Shot 2024-10-21 at 16.53.12.png

thumbnail_Screen Shot 2024-10-21 at 16.53.12.png

Screen Shot 2024-10-21 at 16.53.12.png

18 ledna, 2021/by Pavel Sedlacek18 prosince, 2020/by Krystof Cernik18 prosince, 2020/by Krystof Cernik19 března, 2021/by Markéta Mikšovská

large_ian-kelsall-r_99s0uBXEs-unsplash.jpg

medium_ian-kelsall-r_99s0uBXEs-unsplash.jpg

small_ian-kelsall-r_99s0uBXEs-unsplash.jpg

thumbnail_ian-kelsall-r_99s0uBXEs-unsplash.jpg

ian-kelsall-r_99s0uBXEs-unsplash.jpg

Prague

Veolia

CIRA Advisory (CIRAA) is a consulting firm dedicated to helping accelerate the transition to a more sustainable and circular economy. Based in the Czech Republic, CIRAA works with companies of all sizes internationally to implement circular business models and strategies across diverse economic sectors and industry segments, from agribusiness, industry and manufacturing, through construction, transport and supply chain management, to retail, financial services and digitalization. We act as a guide through every stage of our clients’ circular transition. In addition to strategy consulting, we develop effective communication strategies for companies on their sustainability initiatives for both professional audiences and the general public and organize specialized networking events and conferences with a circular economy focus. For more information on our services and examples of our work, please visit our Web site at www.ciraa.eu.

large_blob

medium_blob

small_blob

thumbnail_blob

blob

CIRA Advisory s.r.o.

VEOLIA PLACE construction project serves as a multifunctional space, an innovative and circular hub in the center of Prague. CIRAA was a key partner for the project, their task was to implement circular approaches at the bidding stage for the individual parts to ensure that the project was executed in line with the principles of a circular economy. They addressed not only the spaces and interiors of the building, but also its subsequent operation, providing both a theoretical and practical framework for the project developer. CIRAA helped VEOLIA CZECH REPUBLIC to define the circular parameters of the whole project: from the criteria for and evaluation of the architectural competition to setting up the future operation of the site so that it would make the fullest use of circular economy principles.

Veolia Place Circular Hub project

small_20210526 - CJI logo - 185x600px-01.png

thumbnail_20210526 - CJI logo - 185x600px-01.png

20210526 - CJI logo - 185x600px-01.png

This collection comes from the <a href="https://www.circle-economy.com/circular-jobs-initiative/" target="_blank">Circular Jobs Initiative</a>, an initiative of Circle Economy.

The workforce is an essential lever for transforming our economy from linear to circular. The Circular Jobs Initiative aims to maximise the employment opportunities offered by the circular economy. It provides practical support and insights to businesses and governments that want to adopt circular strategies that have a positive social impact.The Circular Jobs Initiative works through three focus areas: 

- Upskilling the workforce

- Quality of work

- Inclusive job opportunities 

CJI has defined circular jobs as any occupation that directly involves or indirectly supports one of the strategies of the circular economy. It distinguishes between three types of circular jobs: core, enabling and indirectly circular jobs.

**Core circular jobs** are all jobs that ensure the closure of raw material cycles, including jobs in repair, renewable energy, waste and resource management. 

**‍Enabling circular jobs** are jobs that remove barriers for and enable the acceleration and upscaling of core circular activities, including jobs that arise in leasing, education, design and digital technology. 

**Indirectly circular jobs** are jobs that occur in other sectors that do not play a direct role in furthering the transition to the circular economy but can still adopt circular strategies. They include jobs that provide services to core circular strategies, including jobs in information services, logistics and the public sector.

The Knowledge Hub Collection includes examples of circular jobs, publications, reports, case studies and policies different organisations, governments and businesses are already using to advocate for a person-centred circular economy. 

Visit the <a href="https://www.circle-economy.com/circular-jobs-initiative/" target="_blank">Circular Jobs Initiative</a>

Visit the <a href="http://jobsmonitor.circle-economy.com/" target="_blank">Circular Jobs Monitor</a>

20210526 - CJI vignette - circle crop - 120x120px.png

Circular Jobs Initiative

large_shutterstock_406114573.jpg

medium_shutterstock_406114573.jpg

small_shutterstock_406114573.jpg

thumbnail_shutterstock_406114573.jpg

shutterstock_406114573.jpg

Policy case

Impact on the quantity or quality of jobs, and shifts in the labour market

Jobs

Impact on the health and happiness of human populations

Well-being

Contribution to social parity, or impact on social disparity

Equality

Reduced green house gas emissions released into the biosphere

Reduce Emissions (SDG13)

Reduced use of virgin materials and/or an increase of the use of secondary and bio-based materials

Reduce Material Consumption (SDG12)

Minimise waste through diversion: Instead of sending waste to landfill, it is redirected into other industrial processes for handling, treatment, recycling, recovery, or reuse in various forms. 

Minimise waste through design: At the outset of a process of project, plan and design such that there is zero waste or minimal waste during production, use, and at end of life. 

Minimise Waste (SDG12)

Producing and providing business and consumer goods and services

Goods and Services

Providing specialist services to support consumers, businesses, andgovernments

Professional Services

Circular Economy in school programmes

Data, knowledge & information sharing

Conduct research

Implement innovation programmes

Incubator and investment programmes

Awareness raising events

 Develop research, structure knowledge, encourage innovation networks and disseminate findings with integrity


Strengthen and advance knowledge

Manufactured goods, such as vehicles, textiles, appliances and equipment and their associated production processes are big employers but:
- production processes often rely on fossil fuels and currently drive one-third of the overshoot on the climate change planetary boundary due to its GHG production, 
- material- and energy-intensive industrial activities are linked to deforestation and drive 15% on both the land use and freshwater planetary boundaries, 
- manufacturing goods results in substantial amounts of hazardous industrial waste and leaks chemicals into the environment.

Here, circular solutions must tackle the full value chain, but material demand must also shrink: this will necessitate a societal shift to favouring sufficiency over excess and reducing consumption to sustainable levels. Our four key solutions for manufactured goods are:
- Mainstream industrial symbiosis and efficiency : Achieve process improvements, scrap diversion and reduction in yield losses through greater industrial symbiosis and efficiency. Foster tighter collaboration within and between industries to deliver powerful material and emissions savings.
- Extend the lifetime of machinery, equipment, and goods: Maximise the lifetime of goods that serve our daily needs to bring a number of environmental benefits. 
- Buy what's needed: Reduce the number of purchases of common electronic goods, appliances, and other equipment to sufficiency levels. 
- Eschew fast fashion in favour of sustainable textiles: Drastically reduce new clothing purchases. All used clothing should go on to be repaired, reused or, if needed, recycled appropriately. Prioritise natural and local textile manufacturing, as well as higher-quality and more durable garments. 




👕📱 Consumer Goods

Communities

Urban dwellers around the world have become increasingly reliant on the consumption of fast-moving consumer goods that are designed to be cheap to buy and easily disposable. There is, nevertheless, an opportunity to support the development of sustainable alternatives for a range of consumer goods, from packaging to cosmetics to clothing that use renewable and recovered materials.

Local and sustainable producer ecosystems are networks of local entrepreneurs and initiatives that innovate sustainable products and services. These ecosystems could be established in physical locations, such as a maker-space, and can support the innovation of ideas and products that use locally sustainable and abundant materials (such as renewable or residual materials). 

Local governments can support the creation of local and sustainable producer ecosystems by providing rent-free access to the facilities and locations for entrepreneurs and initiatives that are developing circular economy innovations. Local governments can also engage in dialogue with participants of local spaces to understand and overcome the barriers towards a local circular economy, and could even connect initiatives with residual material streams.


large_3dfs-filment-refil-3.jpeg

medium_3dfs-filment-refil-3.jpeg

small_3dfs-filment-refil-3.jpeg

thumbnail_3dfs-filment-refil-3.jpeg

3dfs-filment-refil-3.jpeg

👕📱  Local and sustainable producer ecosystem

In 2018, Veolia, through its Foundation, and Empow’Her opened L’Oasis in the heart of Niamey, the capital of Niger. This space is dedicated to women’s entrepreneurship and raising awareness on sustainable development issues. To extend this promising experience, Veolia is partnering with The MakerSpace Foundation to launch a “Baobab” which will be devoted to promoting the circular economy and the economic empowerment of disadvantaged communities in Durban, South Africa.
This new third place’s objective is to promote a sustainable lifestyle and practices, through awareness and education programmes, and to support local economic development by promoting the emergence of low environmental impact solutions and the creation of green jobs. To develop this economic, environmental, social, and solidarity-based model, based on the observation that reusing and recycling waste create jobs, Baobab is working to develop skills in these areas. Online programmes Pending the premises’ opening to the public, scheduled for December 2020, Internet users can already participate in one of the training programmes offered on Baobab’s website, entitled ‘Upcycling the future’. The Plasticpreneur recycling studio offers training in designing new products from plastic waste. This programme includes learning about recycling processes and using machines for the small-scale production of upcycled items and supports product development and business creation. The Plasticpreneur studio is a good illustration of Baobab’s ambitions, the idea being to give learners the tools to allow them to start their own plastic waste recovery business. The My Lil'Pumpkin programme aims to teach school children the principles of sustainability while developing their problem-solving skills and initiative through hands-on workshops, events, and DIY activities included in the school curriculum. Finally, the Zero Waste awareness programme brings together the population, businesses, communities, etc. around the 5R (Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Repair) principles in order to minimise waste production. Baobab will shortly be organising a number of events (conferences, debates, workshops, etc.) with a view to sharing knowledge and good practices. CREDITS: Main picture © Veolia / Noémie Rosset

Durban

The MakerSpace Foundation

Baobab

In the city of Durban, a cooperation between The MakerSpace Foundation and Veolia opened a third maker-place dedicated to the circular economy. The objective of this place is to promote a sustainable lifestyle and practices, through awareness and education programmes, and to support local economic development by promoting the emergence of low environmental impact solutions and the creation of green jobs.One of the training programmes offered by&nbsp;Baobab is called "Upcycling the future", which invites to form a community, develop solutions to reduce waste and create green jobs. Another program called "the Plasticpreneur recycling studio" offers training in designing new products from plastic waste. This programme includes learning about recycling processes and using machines for the small-scale production of upcycled items and supports product development and business creation.

"Baobab", a space dedicated to local and sustainable producers in Durban


Reduced use and withdrawal of water and rate of recycling and reuse of water

Save Water (SDG6)

Reduced use of fossil fuel energy sources and/or increased use of renewable energy

Reduce Energy Consumption

Providing electricity and gas services, including traditional and renewable energy generation, natural and manufactured gas and operating gas networks

Energy Utilities and Independent Power Producers

Providing water and sewage services, including water collection and distribution, water treatment systems and sewage treatment facilities

Water and Sewage

Recovering and reusing waste heat, gas, etc. for energy

Recovery and reuse of waste energy

 Direct Financial Support

Circular use of public-owned assets (land, buildings and equipment)

Cities consume about 75% of global energy and emit between 50% and 60% of global greenhouse gases (UN-Habitat). To reduce the negative impact of their energy consumption, cities need to shift away from fossil fuels and move towards renewable energy sources. Such a shift will help cities work towards their climate change mitigation and adaptation action plans. Renewable energy technologies such as wind, water, solar, and geothermal can also help improve access to energy in vulnerable and marginalised neighbourhoods through, for example, decentralised, off-grid solutions.

Renewable energy technologies can harvest the energy in nature’s processes, such as wind, and solar radiation and geothermal heat, that can be replenished within a human lifespan. In contrast, fossil fuels are materials that are not replenished within a human lifespan and are combusted for energy, losing the fuel material and resulting in emissions.

Local governments can develop sustainable energy plans, considering different energy resources and requirements, to develop a robust strategy for the development of renewable energy technologies and infrastructure throughout the city. They can also institute specific legislation and tax systems to regulate energy production and consumption, incentivise research and development of cleaner, more efficient technologies. Via Power Purchase Agreements cities can buy renewable energy from green energy providers and fix the price in order to provide security to financial institutions to finance renewable energy infrastructure. Furthermore, increasing awareness and facilitating capacity-building on planning urban sustainable energy projects can help the uptake of clean energy across the city by different stakeholders—from citizens to businesses and institutions. Facilitating collaboration, then, will be crucial, since private companies operate most of the world’s energy systems.


⚡ Energy Systems

Governments

Water system refers to the water supply network for storing and supplying water for use by the community.

One of the greatest challenges of a city is to provide its inhabitants with safe, clean water from a limited fresh water supply. Improving the city’s water infrastructure efficiency, such as minimising leakages, reduces the strain put on the limited supply, which in turn, helps to ensure inhabitants gain access to clean and affordable water.

The water infrastructure of a city typically consists of components such as surface water diversions, wells, pumps, transmission pipes and canals, treatment and storage facilities, and distribution network elements (Burian et al.). Options for improving the efficiency of the system include investing in water loss reduction systems, creating and following a regular maintenance program, and better matching water supply and demand (Global Water Partnership).

Cities can improve the efficiency of their water system infrastructure by conducting a water audit, in which all water flows are traced and losses in the system are identified to map where the most efficiency improvements can be gained. Alongside this, asset management can be used to create a short-term and long-term strategy of investing in new equipment, refurbishing existing equipment and developing maintenance programmes to ensure infrastructure is as efficient as possible, and leaks are minimised. Such management programmes create financial transparency amongst all stakeholders and provide useful long-term planning for larger infrastructure changes (US EPA)

💧 Water Systems

In many industrial processes and in data centres, part of the energy input is lost as residual heat. It is possible to recover the excess heat to be used as a new source of energy. Recovering and utilising residual heat reduces the demand for additional heat generation. In turn, this reduces fuel requirements, and subsequently emissions if fossil fuels are used to generate heat.

Residual heat can be recovered via pipelines and reused again on-site, or transported to another location for another use, such as district heating which heats the homes of residents. In cases where the temperature of the recovered heat is too low, heat pumps can facilitate increasing the temperature to a more suitable temperature. 

Local governments can utilise their wide knowledge and influence to map residual heat flows and heat demand sites to help connect heat supply and demand across stakeholders in the most optimal way. As well as supplying industry with this knowledge, local governments can provide subsidies to industrial sites and data centers to help them to procure the relevant infrastructure and additional technology (e.g. heat pumps). What is more, local governments can commission the development of district heating networks.


large_victor-UoIiVYka3VY-unsplash.jpg

medium_victor-UoIiVYka3VY-unsplash.jpg

small_victor-UoIiVYka3VY-unsplash.jpg

thumbnail_victor-UoIiVYka3VY-unsplash.jpg

victor-UoIiVYka3VY-unsplash.jpg

⚡💧  Capture and utilise residual heat

Arras

Urban Community of Arras

Aquatics centre

Arras,&nbsp;a city 175km North of Paris, implemented a heat recevory project through renewable energy investment as part of the City long-term strategy for energy reduction. Veolia uses the heat of the city’s waste-water and sewage networks to heat the air and water at a public aquatics centre through a technology called Energido. The new technology is providing 80% of the energy required to heat the public swimming pool and the Centre’s indoor air. This stabilises the cost of energy for the municipality and enables the municipality to save financially, approximate €40,000 per year. Additionally, the return on investment is currently forecast to be &lt;9 years and it will decrease as a carbon tax on natural gas increases. FInally, the reliance on fossil fuels by the aquatics centre are reduced by 80% each year through this renewable energy system, resulting in about 230 tonnes of CO2 per year no longer being released into the atmosphere. Matching the rate of the production and consumption of heat energy has been a challenge, especially as the aquatics centre is a constant user of heat, but the project has so far been proven successful.

Heat recovered from waste-water treatment for a public aquatics centre

Producing electric cables and wires, power-generating equipment, including solar modules, motors, power turbines, as well as electronic equipment and instruments, including computer chips, communication equipment, analytical instruments, lasers, display screens, point-of-sales machines, security system equipment, and healthcare equipment

Electrical and Electronic Equipment

Utilise waste streams as a source of secondary resources and recover waste for reuse and recycling

Use waste as a resource

Cycle strategies aim to cycle and reuse materials at their highest value: they maximise the volume of secondary materials re-entering the economy, ultimately minimising the need for virgin material inputs and therefore also narrowing flows. Of course, virgin materials will always be needed to a degree: all materials degrade and can’t be cycled infinitely, use energy, and require blending with virgin materials to maintain strength and functionality.

Cycle

           
                  A 95% recovery rate: when waste turns back into raw materials
This site, dedicated to the treatment of end-of-life "crystalline silicon" type photovoltaic panels, separates and isolates all the materials, from the special photovoltaic panel glass to the aluminium frame, connection box, and connection cables. Once recovered, the materials are redirected to various industrial sectors: the glass, 2/3 recovered as clean cullet is used in the glass-making sector, the framework in an aluminium refinery, plastic as recycled fuel in cement works, and silicon in precious metal sectors. And as for the cables and connectors, they are crushed and sold in the form of copper shot. 
 
 "Rousset is the first site for a new industry in France specifically dedicated to recycling photovoltaic panels. It demonstrates France’s excellence in innovation and waste treatment. Expertise that, in the future, can be duplicated in new places,” explained Bernard Harambillet, CEO Waste Solutions for Veolia in France.
 By 2050 the supply of end-of-life photovoltaic panels will reach several tens of millions of tonnes worldwide (notably in China, USA, Japan, India, and Germany). In France, 53,000 tonnes were placed on the market in 2016 and 84,000 tonnes in 2017.    
More : 
> We turn waste into materials
> For the first time in France, Veolia will recycle old photovoltaic panels (March 2017)
> Discover #LivingCircular
> Veolia’s waste management expertise
> The PV CYCLE website
> The Syndicat des Énergies Renouvelables website   
  
  

Rousset-les-Vignes

In Rousset in Bouches-du-Rhône, Veolia, PV CYCLE and the Syndicat des Énergies Renouvelables today open the first line in France and in Europe dedicated to recycling end-of-life photovoltaic panels. The plant will process 1,800 tonnes of material this year - a quantity that will gradually increase to 4,000 tonnes.