This malpractice is in constant conflict with the ups and downs of the raw materials market and is also a major environmental problem.
One possible solution is the implementation of the industrial model called circular economy. This new way of doing business is gaining importance in modern industry because it represents an improvement in all aspects. First, the circular economy business model consists of the reuse of both urban and industrial waste, in order to be used as raw material <Use-Consume-Think-Recycle-React-Reactivate-Use>.
To be able to process waste in an industrial process is not easy, it requires resources and experts to analyze the consequences of this new raw material. However, the effort of incorporating these wastes into an industrial process brings a series of benefits, all of which will be accompanied depending on how the product or raw material has been designed. Different aspects to be considered have been defined below:
Reduction in the amount of raw material extracted.
It leads a company to use fewer natural resources. Because as a good material is exploited, it is used up until there is none left. This means that there is a greater dependence on the availability of that resource influencing the value of raw materials.
Using waste as a raw material is the best way to significantly increase the life of natural reserves. The iron industry recycling 75% of the iron that is thrown away as scrap has allowed it to reduce mining. This, in turn, leads to an increase in the useful life of the companies because there are still resources available.
In the same way, if a company can manage the waste of another company because it is potential waste for its industrial process. The dependence on the general market is lower, on the one hand, it generates greater economic stability to the company because you do not have so much dependence on the raw material because you use recycled and on the other hand, you are getting a material of low economic cost to get the maximum profitability.
CO2 reduction due to transportation:
Being urban or industrial resources preferably of local origin, the transportation needed to move a material from one place to another is reduced. This is directly related to the reduction of the environmental impact or carbon footprint of the transportation of goods.
Reduction of production costs:
The cost of a residue is proportionally lower than the price of a raw material due to its low commercial demand. For that reason, an easy or optimal incorporation of that waste in a few stages to your industrial process allows you to achieve high profitability. By not being so dependent on the fluctuations of the raw material market, you can achieve greater competitiveness.
Product revaluation:
The treatment of waste as recycled products or within the field of circular economy, represents “a green image” for other companies. The accreditation and certification in the use of waste is an added value for the company itself due to the recognition for being a model company to the principles of ecology and sustainability. Giving solutions to third party companies for your service by using environmentally friendly products.
Secondly, the circular economy strategy in Spain 2030 obliges companies to strive to find sustainable models, advance on energy decarbonization, reducing the consumption of fossil fuels with renewable energy sources and the search for resource efficiency to find business competitiveness. This strategy is associated with the fulfillment of the following action plans:
1) The “Closing the loop: an EU action plan for the circular economy”.
2) A new circular economy action plan for a clean and competitive Europe 2020.
3) European green pact and 2030 agenda for sustainable development in which the following aspects have been the objectives to be achieved and assessed since 2010:
- Reduce national material consumption by 30%.
- Reduction of waste generation by 15%.
- Reduce food waste throughout the food chain by 50% per capita at the household and retail consumption level, and by 20% in the production and supply chain from 2020.
- Improve water efficiency by 10%.
- Reduce carbon footprint to below 10 million tons of CO2 equivalent.
These changes that need to be implemented or improved by 2030 are directly related to the construction, agri-food, fishing and forestry, industrial, consumer goods, tourism, and textile and apparel sectors.
It is everyone’s task to modernize industries towards the new ecological situation and to find new opportunities with ecological or eco-sustainable solutions. Because a good analysis of the life cycle of the raw materials obtained and of the products we serve to the market allows us to provide sustainability for the citizens and the planet, in addition to continuing to give a service of excellence.
rimsa is known in the construction section as a distributor of metallic fibers for concrete reinforcement, in which it has participated in important projects in the port of Algeciras, port of Huelva, port of Malaga, port of Barcelona and port of Pasaia, among others. But from the Rimsa unit it joins the initiative of ecological change of the industry to fight against the effects of climate change with projects on the empowerment of urban and industrial waste with the aim of providing new quality and environmental solutions for construction.
Bibliography:
Ecointeligencia-economíacircular
