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Why it’s crucial we embrace the circular economy • The world’s population is expected to peak at 10bn in 2050. Our resources, the earth’s raw materials, are not limitless. • Moving to a circular economy has the potential to increase productivity and create jobs, whilst reducing carbon emissions and preserving valuable raw materials. • By keeping products and materials in use in Scotland for longer, we will be more resilient to global resource pressures. Source: Zero Waste Scotland
What are the targets? The Scottish Government developed a strategy in 2016 to move the country towards a more circular economy, aligning its economic and environmental objectives. The strategy’s four priority areas are: • • • •
Food, drink, and the broader bio-economy: the beer, whisky and fish industries could reduce costs by £500-800 million a year by taking a more circular approach Remanufacture: contributes £1.1 billion a year to Scottish GDP and could contribute £1.7 billion a year by 2020 Construction and the built environment: generates around half of all waste produced in Scotland, so has a significant opportunity to increase resource efficiency Energy infrastructure: significant potential to re-use equipment from decommissioned oil, gas and renewables infrastructure (£30-35 billion is expected to be spent on oil and gas decommissioning by 2040)
Source: Ellen Macarthur Foundation
“we hope that more businesses will engage with the support on offer locally and help develop a truly Circular Tayside.”
DACC • CONNECTED | WINTER 2019
r a l u c Cir ide Tays
