Abstract
The Government of Canada has embraced circular economy and is supporting an increasing number of initiatives in the field. However, implementation examples remain scattered and certain stakeholders are eager to see a greater level of commitment from policy makers. The purpose of this study is to provide a Canadian perspective on how, and to what extent, forest products are compatible with circular economy strategies. This topic was investigated through interviews with 16 Canadian experts in eco-design, circular economy, forest products and/or waste management, with a focus on construction and packaging. Efforts made by forest industries at the manufacturing stage to reduce resource consumption were acknowledged, but the implementation of other circular economy strategies, such as reuse, recycling and energy recovery, is uneven. While there is low-hanging fruit for incremental improvements, such as the processing of recovered lumber in wood panels and not mixing cardboard fibres with other paper streams to avoid downcycling, several barriers to the widespread adoption of the most promising strategies were identified. The experts consulted proposed several solutions to accelerate the deployment of circular economy strategies for forest products, for which government interventions would need to be tailored to the different policy readiness levels (PRLs) observed in the construction and packaging sectors. With circularity having economy-wide implications, setting a clear policy direction at the national level, with a circular economy roadmap for Canada for example, could accelerate coordinated implementation within and across sectors, including forest industries.
Highlights
IntroductionWith the goal of closing material cycles and generating wealth from resources already mobilized in the economy, the circular economy concept is gaining traction worldwide [1,2].Its promise of decoupling economic growth from environmental degradation by phasing out linear consumption (take-make-waste or take-make-dispose) makes the concept appealing [3,4]
With the goal of closing material cycles and generating wealth from resources already mobilized in the economy, the circular economy concept is gaining traction worldwide [1,2].Its promise of decoupling economic growth from environmental degradation by phasing out linear consumption makes the concept appealing [3,4]
In the context where new policies implemented in response to a stronger commitment towards circular economy must solve current and future challenges of all sectors, including the forest sector, this paper provides a Canadian perspective on how, and to what extent, common forest products are compatible with key circular economy strategies
Summary
With the goal of closing material cycles and generating wealth from resources already mobilized in the economy, the circular economy concept is gaining traction worldwide [1,2].Its promise of decoupling economic growth from environmental degradation by phasing out linear consumption (take-make-waste or take-make-dispose) makes the concept appealing [3,4]. With the goal of closing material cycles and generating wealth from resources already mobilized in the economy, the circular economy concept is gaining traction worldwide [1,2]. As the understanding of circular economy is refined, new jobs and business opportunities are being identified, making the concept a true contender to operationalize sustainable development [1,3,5]. The implementation of circular economy actions at scales spanning regions and whole territories has been experienced by several countries [1,5,6]. China has put forward circular economy in its 11th and its 12th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development, along with its “Circular Economy Promotion Law” [7,8].
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