Our industry and customers are evolving. It is going to take continuous innovation, a lot of collaboration, and a commitment to working together to find those smarter, more circular solutions.
By Holly Gamage
The call for increased sustainability echoes louder each day, and at its heart lies a fundamental shift in how we perceive and manage the materials that flow through our economy. With strong environmental stewardship and regulatory incentives, it is time to move past the traditional linear path of resource extraction, production, consumption, and disposal to a more circular model. This requires a shift in perspective, moving beyond the limitations of mere disposal to an approach that encompasses advanced treatment, robust recycling programs, and innovative solutions that maximize resource use.
From Management to an Entire Lifecycle
To build a more circular economy, we must first challenge the conventional perception of 鈥渨aste.鈥� By instead recognizing what are not considered as 鈥渆nd-of-life鈥� materials as 鈥渂yproducts鈥� containing potential resources, we pave the way for practices that extend their valuable lifecycle. Consider the diverse streams Clean Earth often encounters鈥攆rom soil revitalization through materials recycling to the secure processing of universal waste and electronics, the recovery and reuse of solvents and chemicals, and forward-thinking strategies for organics and consumer products. Each of these presents unique challenges and distinct opportunities for circularity.
Instead of solely focusing on managing waste after it is generated, a circular approach encourages us to analyze a product鈥檚 entire lifecycle before it even becomes a byproduct. This proactive stance allows us to identify potential challenges and, more importantly, opportunities for intervention early in the process. This is also where the concept of product stewardship comes into play, reflecting the growing recognition that manufacturers have a responsibility to design more sustainable products from the outset, considering their end-of-life implications.
Consider the common deodorant canister. What appears to be a simple plastic item is often composed of several different types of plastic, a foil liner to protect the product, and a printed label for branding. When viewed through a lens of circularity, the complexity of mixed materials immediately presents a challenge for traditional recycling, as different plastics and the foil liner do not allow for optimum recycling. This understanding then prompts a crucial question early in the lifecycle: could the canister have been designed using fewer, more easily recyclable materials, thereby improving its end-of-life management and fostering a more circular flow?
When you truly understand where materials are coming from and in what form, you can start to identify new possibilities. We often see this with the more obvious 鈥渓ow-hanging fruit鈥� in recycling, such as cardboard, metals, or even shrink wrap. Implementing effective recycling programs for these commodities might seem straightforward, but even here, attention to detail, like proper sorting at the source, can make a difference. Engaging employees on the ground level and helping them understand their role in improving recycling rates can lead to significant positive impacts. By viewing these materials as valuable resources, we unlock avenues for alternative uses and innovative solutions to help minimize landfill reliance.
A Journey Towards a More Circular Economy
A circularity approach extends far beyond these initial steps, integrating advanced treatment, robust recycling programs, and responsible disposal methods into a comprehensive system. Specialized treatment technologies, for instance, play an important role in reducing or eliminating contaminants, preparing byproducts for a potential second life. Complementing this, robust recycling programs are essential for effectively collecting, sorting, and processing a wide array of materials. This requires moving beyond simple commodity recycling to develop innovative solutions for more complex streams. By aggregating challenging materials from various industries, for example, we can achieve the economies of scale needed to develop viable recycling or reuse solutions. Ultimately, while the primary goal is to minimize disposal, responsible and compliant disposal methods also remain a critical component for materials that currently lack viable reuse or recycling pathways.
This journey toward a more circular economy thrives on partnership and collaboration. It involves working with our clients, not just for them, to truly understand their unique operational landscapes and challenges. It requires a proactive mindset, moving beyond simply meeting regulatory requirements to actively seeking ways to improve and innovate. Just as we can make more conscious choices in our personal lives to reduce our environmental footprint, businesses, too, can and should analyze their material flows and identify opportunities for reduction, reuse, and repurposing. This often involves leveraging both internal expertise and external partnerships to tap into specialized knowledge and technologies, so we can create the most effective solutions.
What is exciting is seeing how our industry is evolving, how our customers are evolving, and frankly, how all of us need to keep evolving. It is going to take continuous innovation, a lot of collaboration, and a commitment to working together to find those smarter, more circular solutions. This integrated approach is the path to a more sustainably advantaged future, and it is one we ought to be on, together. | WA
Holly Gamage has been with Clean Earth for 12 years and has 30 years of environmental services experience.聽She serves as the Senior Director, Sustainability and Innovation, responsible for leading Clean Earth鈥檚 advanced waste lifecycle management program. For more information, visit .