In Praise of Circular Thinking

Editorial

Hazardous waste is the tough stuff in the waste business. The toxic leftovers in people's homes are a grab bag of different chemicals. It costs a lot of time, effort and dollars to properly dispose of these materials. The problems with hazardous wastes have been recognized for some time but responsibility for safe disposal has been a hot potato thrown from consumer to municipality to manufacturer. Industry faces another layer of difficulty in dealing with toxic by-products. Is there any hope on the horizon?

Product stewardship^* is part of the solution. To make that process work well, however, thinking and planning must move to a deeper level. The best possibilities for solutions lie in product design. Industrial thinking has been, for the most part, quite limited and linear: make a desired product efficiently and market it profitably. These things are important but don't cover the whole picture. Nature shows us how to be more complete. Living systems assemble, breakdown and reassemble the same tiny atoms over and over. Recycling is done in nature because it is essential. Natural toxins, like snake venom, exist, but they breakdown when their job is done. Human designers need to learn to think in circles—to expand their planning to include reclaiming the product at the end of its life and finding ways of redirecting industrial by-products to useful purposes. Legislation and trade agreements have to be crafted in a way that supports this approach.

There are hopeful signs. In Saskatchewan the used oil and unwanted farm chemical collection programs are important initiatives. More enlightened handling of toxics is, of course, just part of the 'rethink' that is necessary. A pivotal new book, Natural Capitalism, names four interlinked principles of economics and environment: increased efficiency, biologically inspired design and production, shifting from sale of goods to services, and a reinvestment in natural capital. The authors' analysis is backed by examples from around the world. Learning to plan and produce in full cycles is within our grasp. Our challenge is to carry forward from these brave beginnings.

^* For a discussion of product stewardship, visit Environment Canada's page on Extended Producer Responsibility & Stewardship

(Source: September 2000 WasteWatch)

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