Transiting from a take-make-waste model to a circular economy

THE world is changing - but how it changes is largely up to all of us.

Here is what we know: the global population is projected to grow to some 8.5 billion by 2030. By that time, 3 billion more people will have additional purchasing power and become part of the global middle class, increasing their demand for products and services. All of this will put enormous pressure on the earth's natural systems.

Already, resource extraction and processing account for half of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, and over 90 per cent of biodiversity loss and water stress. In Singapore, we have set ambitious goals through our Singapore Green Plan 2030, aiming to reduce waste sent to our landfill by 30 per cent per capita by 2030. Yet, Singapore's recycling rate reportedly fell to a 10-year low in 2020, with waste collection, processing and recycling taking a hit as a result of the pandemic.

In Singapore and around the world, demand is only going to grow, and industries and governments need to work together to generate supply in an environmentally sustainable way. To do this, the Singapore government is working together with stakeholders across the public, private and non-profit sectors to embrace the concept of a circular economy.

Circular economy explained

What if our products, our businesses, and our way of life ensured that the finite resources available to us keep circulating, while we concurrently manage our use of the renewable ones to ensure we do not further deplete them?

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In the traditional take-make-waste linear model, raw materials are collected, then transformed into products that are used until they are finally discarded as waste. But in a circular economy, by keeping materials in continuous, closed-loop life cycles, ecological systems can be regenerated and restored. Not only does this create economic, natural and social capital over the long term, but there are direct, far-reaching benefits for businesses: by some estimates, the global economic gains from material savings could total US$1 trillion per year by 2025.

This way, the concept of growth and prosperity can be decoupled from the consumption of finite resources. Nations and businesses can leverage emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, Big Data and the Internet of Things to further drive and dematerialise our economies, establishing innovative models that move everyone towards a sustainable future.

Removing waste from our ecosystems

As our economies are currently built around a culture of disposable products and single-use convenience, a staggering amount of material ends up in landfills, waterways and oceans. Admittedly, the technology sector is a contributor to the problem.

Every year, 50 million tons of e-waste gets generated around the world and has become the fastest growing waste stream today. While many people make a sincere effort to dispose of their devices responsibly, the reality is that only about 20 per cent of e-waste is formally recycled. The rest winds up in landfills or may be informally recycled, often in developing countries by workers without training or safety equipment. Whether leaching from landfills or improperly handled, these materials have the potential to adversely affect the environment and human health.

Through a circular economy framework, however, companies can make a difference by designing products to be easily recycled, manufacturing with recycled content, and working with customers to take back products at the end of their lives. For example, at Dell Technologies, we manufacture more than 125 different products that include "closed-loop" plastics recovered from properly recycled electronics. Other organisations are also innovating, such as home-grown company Tria which developed a system to convert food waste and the accompanying packaging into fertiliser.

This also goes beyond products - according to the World Economic Forum, 95 per cent of plastic packaging is used once and then "exits" the economy, with a lost value of US$80 to 120 billion annually. Using recycled content can keep these materials circulating longer and create demand for recycled-content plastics, while using rapidly renewable materials like fast-growing bamboo can create a sustainable supply.

Maintaining a collaborative mindset

The concept of sharing is also central to a circular economy - the sharing of ideas, resources, best practices and processes. While it is still necessary to stay competitive, there is a shift in priorities towards collaborative models that deliver mutual benefits for companies, society and the environment.

As a start, businesses are collaborating closely with policymakers to develop innovative initiatives and embrace restrictions on pollutive, extractive and non-renewable practices. Across the private, non-profit and government sectors, there is no shortage of innovative collaborations to advance a circular economy.

To encourage the adoption of such recycling practices, Singapore has introduced the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) system, where producers bear the responsibility for the collection and treatment of their products when they reach end-of-life. As one of the largest technology providers in the world, Dell Technologies is committed to protecting our customers and our planet. That is why we provide secure recycling solutions around the world that protect our customers' data, safeguard their brand reputation and responsibly recycle e-waste. Dell Technologies is also part of the EPR advisory committee in Singapore, working together with the private sector and government to improve waste management.

Another way that organisations need to work together to advance the circular economy is to ensure we are bringing out-of-use technology back into the supply chain. In offices across the world, technology is being updated, leaving their predecessors sitting unused. If that technology is still viable, we want to see it put to use. If it has reached the end of its life, however, it is critical that the materials get recycled and put back into the supply chain to be used to make new products.

Start small and build from there

We have everything we need to transition to a circular economy - but time is of the essence. While large-scale change is necessary, organisations can start taking action in ways big and small.

At Dell Technologies, advancing sustainability is a key priority for us. To hold ourselves accountable for driving measurable change, we have set a "moonshot goal" that by the year 2030, for every product a customer buys, we will reuse or recycle an equivalent product, 100 per cent of our packaging will be made from recycled or renewable material, and more than half of our product content will be made from recycled or renewable material.

The future we are looking forward to may seem far off, but if we are going to achieve a circular economy globally, we need to take action now - together, we will make a difference.

The writer is vice-president and managing director, Singapore, at Dell Technologies.