The technical cycle, however, includes products created from metals and minerals
that initially need to be extracted from the subsurface. Ideally, circular products
should all be derived from biological sources although this is not possible for many
technologies.
Traditional linear product supply chains are often designed without taking the
handling and disposal of products into account. The traditional product has a definite
beginning, which is the sourcing of raw materials and the manufacture of the
product. This can be referend to as the ‘pre-use phase’. The customer uses the
product, the ‘use-phase’, before the product is disposed of. The end of the product
life can be referred to as the 'post-use phase'. In the CE, the end-of-life or post-use
phase is the point at which the product or material is returned to the manufacturer so
that it can be repaired, remanufactured, or recycled and then redistributed. In
principle the sourcing of new materials for new products are displaced. It is important to point out, however, that according to the second law of thermodynamics,
waste streams can be minimized but as long as the system is not isolated, there will
always be a waste fraction that can no longer be recycled. This fraction will eventual
need to be replaced by virgin materials. What can no longer be recycled can be sent
energy recovery or used as construction material.
The role of designers and material engineers in the CE is to develop robust
products that:
1. Extend the product use-phase for as long as possible to reduce the need for
maintenance and the need for replacing products. In turn longer lasting products
avoid all the associated environmental burdens (such as the depletion of limited
resources and emissions) of collecting and processing used products and all the
environmental burdens associated with manufacturing and distributing replacement products.
2. Maximize the potential for re-use, remanufacturing, and eventual recycling so
that waste is essentially designed out of the system.
The role of logistics and supply chain management is to facilitate the efficient
flow of materials in a circular economy. In other words, logistics and supply chain
management provides the framework upon which every step in the life of the product
either side of the use-phase can be optimized. The framework enables strategic
decision-making with regard to:
(a) Material sourcing decisions, collaborating with manufactures of other products
and utilizing their waste streams as inputs
(b) Typical facility location-allocation problems as well as the location-allocation of
facilities for reverse logistics, maintenance, reprocessing, and redistribution
(c) Routing of distribution, collection, and redistribution networks
(d) Determining the scale at which product revenues exceed costs
The evolution of circular product design, new product life cycle management
approaches, and various product recovery options has led to many structural changes
in logistics processes. This chapter provides a logistics and supply chain perspective
on the transition to a CE. The following sections explain the interconnectivity of
1 Logistics in the Circular Economy: Challenges and Opportunities
3
that initially need to be extracted from the subsurface. Ideally, circular products
should all be derived from biological sources although this is not possible for many
technologies.
Traditional linear product supply chains are often designed without taking the
handling and disposal of products into account. The traditional product has a definite
beginning, which is the sourcing of raw materials and the manufacture of the
product. This can be referend to as the ‘pre-use phase’. The customer uses the
product, the ‘use-phase’, before the product is disposed of. The end of the product
life can be referred to as the 'post-use phase'. In the CE, the end-of-life or post-use
phase is the point at which the product or material is returned to the manufacturer so
that it can be repaired, remanufactured, or recycled and then redistributed. In
principle the sourcing of new materials for new products are displaced. It is important to point out, however, that according to the second law of thermodynamics,
waste streams can be minimized but as long as the system is not isolated, there will
always be a waste fraction that can no longer be recycled. This fraction will eventual
need to be replaced by virgin materials. What can no longer be recycled can be sent
energy recovery or used as construction material.
The role of designers and material engineers in the CE is to develop robust
products that:
1. Extend the product use-phase for as long as possible to reduce the need for
maintenance and the need for replacing products. In turn longer lasting products
avoid all the associated environmental burdens (such as the depletion of limited
resources and emissions) of collecting and processing used products and all the
environmental burdens associated with manufacturing and distributing replacement products.
2. Maximize the potential for re-use, remanufacturing, and eventual recycling so
that waste is essentially designed out of the system.
The role of logistics and supply chain management is to facilitate the efficient
flow of materials in a circular economy. In other words, logistics and supply chain
management provides the framework upon which every step in the life of the product
either side of the use-phase can be optimized. The framework enables strategic
decision-making with regard to:
(a) Material sourcing decisions, collaborating with manufactures of other products
and utilizing their waste streams as inputs
(b) Typical facility location-allocation problems as well as the location-allocation of
facilities for reverse logistics, maintenance, reprocessing, and redistribution
(c) Routing of distribution, collection, and redistribution networks
(d) Determining the scale at which product revenues exceed costs
The evolution of circular product design, new product life cycle management
approaches, and various product recovery options has led to many structural changes
in logistics processes. This chapter provides a logistics and supply chain perspective
on the transition to a CE. The following sections explain the interconnectivity of
1 Logistics in the Circular Economy: Challenges and Opportunities
3