the agricultural sector to value-add to resource streams and agricultural by-products
to realise bioeconomy efficiencies and maximise financial returns. Research and
governments are driving changes to policy and funding arrangements to maximise
these opportunities which strive to move organic residuals and agricultural
by-products up the value chain.
8.11 Circular Economy: Pressures and Pros
The agricultural sector is critical to the Queensland economy, providing food, fibre,
foliage and, increasingly, fuel. The sector is instrumental in managing the challenges
associated with population growth, food security, climate change and natural
resource management. The circular economy is a widely coined term for a system
that does not produce any waste or contaminants; instead materials flow (such as
biological nutrients) and recirculate in the biosphere (ISWA 2015). A circular
economy approach in agriculture centres on the production of agriculture commodities using the minimum amount of external resources, closing nutrient loops and
reducing wastes and contaminant releases to the environment (Ward et al. 2016).
Resources can be circulated through many pathways by employing technologies and
creating new value chains. Ward et al. (2016) argue that the circular economy should
be viewed differently to simply extending the ‘linear chain’ through the utilisation of
wastes and agricultural by-products which are not returned to agricultural production
(e.g. in the production of biofuels or other bioproducts), making the clear distinction
that the bioeconomy uses renewable biological resources (agricultural wastes) to
produce food, energy or materials rather than closing the resource loops in agricultural production systems. Queensland’s Biofutures Roadmap and Action Plan
(Queensland Government 2016b) provides aspirations to leverage the strategic
advantages provided by the agricultural and other sectors to secure a share of the
global bioproducts and services market, which is expected to be worth US$1.1
trillion by 2022. This biofutures agenda is broad ranging from biopolymer and
biochemical production to biofuels and bioenergy production. Under this
government-led policy, resources are not circularised; instead they are valorised to
maximise financial returns. The Queensland Government’s vision is for ‘a $1 billion
sustainable and export-oriented industrial biotechnology and bioproducts sector,
attracting significant international investment and creating regional, high-value and
knowledge-intensive jobs’, taking advantage of Queensland’s proximity to substantial Asian markets.
One element of this action plan is Queensland’s biofuel mandate which seeks to
increase investment in the biofuels and wider industrial biotech and bioproducts
industry. The mandate enacted through the Liquid Fuel Supply Act 1984 requires
fuel sellers (fuel retailers and fuel wholesalers) to sell minimum amounts of sustainable biobased fuel. Since 1 January 2017, the sustainable biofuels mandates have set
minimum requirements for the sale of biobased petrol and biobased diesel. The
biobased petrol mandate requires that 4% of the total volume of regular unleaded
136
G. Davis
to realise bioeconomy efficiencies and maximise financial returns. Research and
governments are driving changes to policy and funding arrangements to maximise
these opportunities which strive to move organic residuals and agricultural
by-products up the value chain.
8.11 Circular Economy: Pressures and Pros
The agricultural sector is critical to the Queensland economy, providing food, fibre,
foliage and, increasingly, fuel. The sector is instrumental in managing the challenges
associated with population growth, food security, climate change and natural
resource management. The circular economy is a widely coined term for a system
that does not produce any waste or contaminants; instead materials flow (such as
biological nutrients) and recirculate in the biosphere (ISWA 2015). A circular
economy approach in agriculture centres on the production of agriculture commodities using the minimum amount of external resources, closing nutrient loops and
reducing wastes and contaminant releases to the environment (Ward et al. 2016).
Resources can be circulated through many pathways by employing technologies and
creating new value chains. Ward et al. (2016) argue that the circular economy should
be viewed differently to simply extending the ‘linear chain’ through the utilisation of
wastes and agricultural by-products which are not returned to agricultural production
(e.g. in the production of biofuels or other bioproducts), making the clear distinction
that the bioeconomy uses renewable biological resources (agricultural wastes) to
produce food, energy or materials rather than closing the resource loops in agricultural production systems. Queensland’s Biofutures Roadmap and Action Plan
(Queensland Government 2016b) provides aspirations to leverage the strategic
advantages provided by the agricultural and other sectors to secure a share of the
global bioproducts and services market, which is expected to be worth US$1.1
trillion by 2022. This biofutures agenda is broad ranging from biopolymer and
biochemical production to biofuels and bioenergy production. Under this
government-led policy, resources are not circularised; instead they are valorised to
maximise financial returns. The Queensland Government’s vision is for ‘a $1 billion
sustainable and export-oriented industrial biotechnology and bioproducts sector,
attracting significant international investment and creating regional, high-value and
knowledge-intensive jobs’, taking advantage of Queensland’s proximity to substantial Asian markets.
One element of this action plan is Queensland’s biofuel mandate which seeks to
increase investment in the biofuels and wider industrial biotech and bioproducts
industry. The mandate enacted through the Liquid Fuel Supply Act 1984 requires
fuel sellers (fuel retailers and fuel wholesalers) to sell minimum amounts of sustainable biobased fuel. Since 1 January 2017, the sustainable biofuels mandates have set
minimum requirements for the sale of biobased petrol and biobased diesel. The
biobased petrol mandate requires that 4% of the total volume of regular unleaded
136
G. Davis