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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>




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Circular Cities

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Policy case

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

Jobs

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

Innovation

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 building materials and finished and semi-finished building products for construction

Construction Materials and Products

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

Use waste as a resource

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

Using materials that can be easily reused or recycled after use

Reusable, recyclable materials and inputs

Designing products so they produce as little waste as possible during production

Design for minimal waste

Develop regenerative infrastructure

Public-private partnerships

Raise awareness and run information campaigns about  strategies for and impacts of the circular economy in different contexts.

Communication and awareness

Technology standards

Use longer and more often by extending and intensifying use of existing resources, products, spaces and infrastructure

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Reuse

Maintain and repair city-owned spaces and infrastructure to increase longevity, and support opportunities for residents to do the same for privately owned items and property

Support reuse, repair, remanufacturing, maintenance of existing resources, products, spaces & infrastructure

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

Governments

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

Impacts

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Industries

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

Policy Instruments

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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

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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

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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

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          Reducing waste to landfill is more than just recycling. It's about making use of what we have, consuming less, and being more resourceful. Brisbane City Council is committed to helping residents reduce their waste by encouraging reuse, repair, upcycling, and sharing of knowledge and equipment.  Learn new skills To make your journey to reducing waste even easier, Council runs regular reuse and upcycle workshops and demonstrations to help you learn new skills and get you started. Find upcoming events. Community sharing initiatives Across Brisbane, a growing number of community initiatives and organisations are supporting residents to reduce waste through sharing of equipment. 
  
The Brisbane Tool Library houses tools and equipment donated and rescued from landfill. The Tool Library has a large selection of household, gardening and building tools to loan out to the public. For a small annual membership fee, you can have access to any of these tools for up to seven days. For more information visit Brisbane Tool Library. 

 Shopping second-hand Buying items second-hand is a great way to give an item a second change of life while reducing waste. There are plenty of ways you can shop second-hand in Brisbane. 
  
Council has sponsored the annual Garage Sale Trail event for the past seven years. The event links garage sales across Australia and supports reuse, fundraising and fostering local connections.  Garage Sale Trail is an opportunity to declutter your home, shop the trail for treasure and help Brisbane keep waste out of landfill.  Hosting a successful garage sale Garage sales are a great way to declutter, make some extra money and support Brisbane's thriving second-hand economy. Our free Get garage sale ready guide (Word - 1.1Mb) provides Brisbane residents with information about how to have a fun and profitable garage sale day.

 
  
Reverse Garbage Queensland (RGQ) is a treasure trove of unique materials to use in your next craft or upcycling project.  This not-for-profit organisation collects quality industrial discards, diverting them from landfill and selling them at low cost to the public. RGQ regularly hosts waste-focused art workshops and educational talks and tours to suit every age and group. 

 
  
The Revive Second-hand Fashion Festival is a celebration of style, value and the eco-friendly virtues of buying pre-loved clothing. The event encourages residents to consider how they can make more sustainable fashion choices and support textile recycling, reuse and repair. Learn more about thrifting and browse through your local op shops for fashion staples to brighten up your wardrobe.

 
  
The World's Biggest Garage Sale activates dormant goods for good as a way to make purposeful profit that creates a positive impact on people and the planet. They aim to be the go-to-resale retail brand for value through education, online stores, pop-up shops, events and community involvement to make circular practices a social norm. For more information on how to shop, donate, or volunteer your time for the next event, visit the World's Biggest Garage Sale website.

 Reuse and upcycle tips There are many other everyday items that we can reuse and upcycle instead of them going to landfill. View the following tips to help you reuse more at home:  buy from your local Treasure Trove and from op shops, antique centres, garage sales and community sales always share or donate quality items that you don’t need or want. For locations, check out the national website for charities or Recycling Near You  take reusable furniture and homewares to Council’s free resource recovery centres. They will be donated to one of Council's Treasure Troves and all funds raised support the Endeavour Foundation. donate to an op shop. For locations, check out the national website for charities or Recycling Near You give yourself a project to repair and refurbish homewares and furniture, rather than buying brand new incorporate pre-loved and revived clothing into your wardrobe by mending, altering and buying second-hand.
 Stay connected with like-minded people Meet like-minded people in your community by taking part in a community group initiative. 
  
Brisbane residents looking to actively participate in tackling plastic waste can connect with their local Boomerang Bags volunteer group. This initiative brings together volunteers to create reusable shopping bags by upcycling fabrics that could otherwise end up in landfill. Volunteers distribute the upcycled bags at various locations and identify opportunities to encourage better waste reduction behaviours in the local community. New participants do not need sewing skills as there are many other ways to get involved. More than 20 groups exist in Brisbane. Residents wanting to get involved can visit Boomerang Bags to join an existing group or start their own.

 
  
Grow It Local is a local online 'grow' community where residents can connect with local growers to learn and share knowledge and expertise, produce and recipes. It's an online celebration of backyard, balcony, community and window-sill growers. Residents can take advantage Grow It Local events and resources by registering on the Grow It Local website. Grow It Local is proudly sponsored by Brisbane City Council.

 
  
The Nest is 'like a Men's Shed but for women' and founded on the principles of 'craftivism'. Located in Everton Park, it celebrates the social and wellbeing benefits of making by hand, sharing skills and empowering through creation. They also run workshops on sewing, repairing and other crafts. 

  
    


 Concrete recycled from Brisbane buildings has formed the base for the $12.35m road upgrade in the city. Rino Recycling has provided 96% of the recycled materials used in the upgrades of Cedar Road and Macarthur Avenue at Northshore. The project is managed by BMD for the Department of State Development, Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning and has involved upgrading key roads within Northshore Hamilton from the existing industrial accesses into thoroughfares that now service the residential, retail, commercial and recreational precinct. Rino Recycling’s General Manager Daniel Blaser said the project was an excellent example of how recycled material from across the city can be used for major projects, rather than heading straight to landfill. “State-of-the-art recycling of commercial building materials into a whole range of base materials absolutely should be the foundations of Brisbane’s next chapter of development. This is the future of development, utilising material that has been used before, to start again,” he said. “The story only gets better when we share where the materials have come from; it invokes a sense of nostalgia, knowing that certain roads have a history. The base for Cedar Road, for example, comes from concrete out of the Mater Hospital, stands from Ballymore and the Bulimba Barracks. “Additional concrete, brick and concrete washout came from the BP Refinery, Cross River Rail and Windsor Holden while fill has come from recycled material from the Port of Brisbane, Brisbane City Council buildings and a wide range of smaller buildings across the city. For the project to date, Rino has provided some 23,000 tonnes of the total 23,800 tonnes required.” Blaser said Queensland had very low recycling recovery rates compared to the southern states, which have had landfill levies in place for much longer and as a result had much more mature recycling industries. “There is much room for improvement, development and smart management and investment, and Rino is taking a leadership position. Rino has recently gained certification to supply recycled material for road construction with the Department of Main Roads,” he said. “The recycling and resource recovery industry is being recognised as key ‘infrastructure’ and will be pivotal in growing the circular economy of the future. It is our responsibility to ensure the environmental sustainability and safety of business is a priority.” Recyclable waste management — a recap Historically and without the intervention of subsidies, the cost of collecting and sorting recyclable waste in Australia has been significantly higher than sending it to landfill. Following the 2009 National Waste Policy agreement between all Australian environment ministers, state governments have been implementing various strategies to increase waste remediation and recycling. The waste levy underpins the Queensland Waste Strategy, seeking to reduce waste disposed through landfill from 55% to 10% by 2050, with 75% recycling rates across all waste types. The Queensland Government has committed to reinvesting over 70% of the levy in waste and recycling initiatives. The Queensland levy applies to 38 of the 77 local government areas or 90% of Queensland’s population with waste generated inside the levy zones incurring the waste levy if disposed of outside the levy zones. Image caption: Rino General Manager Daniel Blaser. (Image credit: Photographer Peter Wallis) 

Brisbane

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City of Brisbane

<p>The $12.35 million road renovation in Brisbane was built on recycled concrete from Brisbane structures. Rino Recycling provided 96 percent of the recycled materials utilized in the Northshore improvements to Cedar Road and Macarthur Avenue.</p>