The oil and gas industry is the largest source of emissions of greenhouse gases in the United States, despite being tightly regulated.

The following are things to know about the different type of human and environmental risks that come with the extraction and processing of oil.

Employee Dangers

Working in the oil industry tends to be very lucrative, and these jobs are hard to fill often. The pay is why people continue in the industry, despite the risk. Trends seem to show worsening fatality rates among workers in the industry, particularly in Texas. Texas is the largest oil-producing state in the country. There were more than 530 fatal occupational industries in Texas in 2017 related to this industry.

Since 2016, fatality rates have been increasing.

Oil production went up almost 25% in the U.S. between 2017 and 2018, which may play a role. There are more demanding deadlines for production and an increased quantity of work, which could mean more significant risks for workers.

Specific Worker Risks

There are many, but a few of the more common risks that workers in oil and gas face on the job every day include:

• Vehicle collisions when workers and equipment are being transported to and from well sites which are often remotely located and require long-distance travel. Around 4 of every ten workers killed on the job in the industry die because of a highway vehicle accident.
• Being stuck between moving vehicles, equipment, fall equipment and high-pressure lines leads to on-site injuries and deaths.
• When someone works in the oil and gas industry, they are at risk of being exposed to explosions and fires because of the ignition of vapors, gases and chemicals that are highly flammable. Gases and vapors, as well as hydrogen sulfide, are released from wells, equipment and trucks.
• Another considerable risk for workers in this industry are falls because often, employees have to access equipment and platforms that are high above the ground.
• High-pressure lines and equipment create hazards, including the potential for compressed gas exposure.

There are around 1.2 million oil and gas production facilities across the country, ranging from active wells to processing plants. More than 12 million people live within ½ mile of these locations, and below are some risks they might face.

Community Exposure

Fossil fuel pollution is sometimes called an invisible killer because it can contribute to heart and respiratory diseases over time, which are leading causes of death.

Fossil fuels also leak substances into the soil and drinking water sources that can be toxic, cause cancer, birth defects and contribute to liver damage.

Research shows the industry’s impact most heavily affects minority, low-income and rural communities because they are closest to these sites and may be most exposed to toxins.

There’s also a link between volatile organic compounds and the emission of nitrogen oxide that create smog. Smog is linked to a higher risk of asthma in the young and elderly, leading to missed school and workdays and increased hospitalizations.

Behind only coal-fired power plants, oil and gas production is one of the largest sources of greenhouse gases in the country.

Wildlife Disruption

The extraction of oil and gas disrupts natural balance and wildlife in addition to harming humans.

Vehicle traffic, noises and movement can impact how animals breed, nest and communicate. The habitats of many species can be broken up by the introduction of fences, roads and powerlines.

When there are oil spills, these often kill large numbers of animals and create long-lasting marine ecosystem damage. For example, the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico led to oil spreading for 68,000 square miles over the sea.

That incident alone killed around one million seabirds, 1,000 sea turtles, and 5,000 marine mammals.

Even though we don’t always hear about them, there are often more minor spills. For example, in 2020, there were nearly 2,180 spills in Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming.

Finally, when the needed infrastructure for oil and gas extraction is developed, it significantly and negatively impacts wildlands. Wilderness is destroyed, and the damage can’t be reversed typically.

There are more than 12 million acres of public lands being used for the production of fossil fuels. To make this happen, vegetation has to be removed, and even when the sites are abandoned, it can take centuries for the land to recover.

The post What Are the Risks of the Oil and Gas Industry? first appeared on BioEnergy Consult.

Tanning refers to the process by which collagen fibers in a hide react with a chemical agent (tannin, alum or other chemicals). However, the term leather tanning also commonly refers to the entire leather-making process. Hides and skins have the ability to absorb tannic acid and other chemical substances that prevent them from decaying, make them resistant to wetting, and keep them supple and durable. The flesh side of the hide or skin is much thicker and softer. The three types of hides and skins most often used in leather manufacture are from cattle, sheep, and pigs.

Out of 1000 kg of raw hide, nearly 850 kg is generated as solid wastes in leather processing. Only 150 Kg of the raw material is converted in to leather. A typical tannery generate huge amount of waste:

• Fleshing: 56-60%
• Chrome shaving, chrome splits and buffing dust: 35-40%
• Skin trimming: 5-7%
• Hair: 2-5%

Over 80 per cent of the organic pollution load in BOD terms emanates from the beamhouse (pre-tanning); much of this comes from degraded hide/skin and hair matter. During the tanning process at least 300 kg of chemicals (lime, salt etc.) are added per ton of hides. Excess of non-used salts will appear in the wastewater.

Because of the changing pH, these compounds can precipitate and contribute to the amount of solid waste or suspended solids. Every tanning process step, with the exception of finishing operations, produces wastewater. An average of 35 m³ is produced per ton of raw hide. The wastewater is made up of high concentration of salts, chromium, ammonia, dye and solvent chemicals etc.

A large amount of waste generated by tanneries is discharged in natural water bodies directly or indirectly through two open drains without any treatment. The water in the low lying areas in developing countries, like India and Bangladesh, is polluted in such a degree that it has become unsuitable for public uses. In summer when the rate of decomposition of the waste is higher, serious air pollution is caused in residential areas by producing intolerable obnoxious odours.

Tannery wastewater and solid wastes often find their way into surface water, where toxins are carried downstream and contaminate water used for bathing, cooking, swimming, and irrigation. Chromium waste can also seep into the soil and contaminate groundwater systems that provide drinking water for nearby communities. In addition, contamination in water can build up in aquatic animals, which are a common source of food.

The post Wastes Generation in Tanneries first appeared on BioEnergy Consult.

However, before you begin it’s worth having an idea of the good and bad elements of decorating so that you know what to look out for. To help point you in the right direction, here’s a roundup of the dos and don’ts to keep in mind while decorating your home.

1. Do use textures

Whether you live in a compact apartment or a large house, having a mixture of textures can make a room interesting, especially if you have a neutral colour scheme. So, if you combine grey woolen throws with grey leather cushions, the clashing texture of the two lifts the décor, even though they’re the same colour.

2. Don’t add small items to a big space

If you’re redecorating a large space, think carefully about the accessories you’re including. Small paintings and other art pieces will be lost on big walls, so it’s worth considering the area you’re trying to fill before hanging anything.

Similarly, rugs need to fill the room. The edges of the rug should sit just underneath your sofa or armchair by a few inches. If you have anything smaller, it can make your room appear to be out of proportion.

3. Do be clever with colour

If you have a small room, filling it with bold jewel tones might make it seem even smaller, especially if you spend time in there. However, adding a splash of hunter green in the downstairs toilet or a burst of yellow in the hallway can make your entire home feel colourful. This especially the case if the rest of the décor is fairly neutral as the bolder colours stand out more.

4. Don’t use white if you have children or pets

Mud, paint, and food are more likely to end up on walls and carpets when you have children or pets running around the house. Therefore, white is a colour that doesn’t work well as you spend a lot of time wiping everything down.

5. Do test colours

Once you have a colour palette in mind, it’s worth buying a selection of tester pots. Add a huge block of the colour you have in mind for the room to the wall so you can see what it looks like in the light and how it fits in the space.

6. Don’t go over your budget

Home decorating can be expensive, so you’ll need to budget for the updates you make and account for this expense. By shopping around and planning your finances, you’re more likely to stick to what you set out to spend.

What do you have in mind for your home? Will you add a splash of colour or invest in a new rug?

The post Do’s and Don’ts of Redecorating Your Home first appeared on BioEnergy Consult.

Separating useful fiber from contaminants has historically been a persistent operational bottleneck for institutions in the paper sector, and it’s through such prevalent problems that intuitive solutions have emerged.

What Counts as Contamination in Secondary Fiber

Contamination covers anything that isn’t usable cellulose fiber. A major offender here is plastic. Film wrap, shrink wrap and plastic-coated packaging often slip through single-stream collection systems. Wet or moisture-damaged packaging is another issue, since soggy paper mats together and resist proper pulping, often creating the ideal environment for mold growth.

Metals, such as staples and paper clips, also end up in a mixed bale, damaging screening equipment. Food residue, particularly grease from takeout containers, interferes with the pulping chemistry in ways that are hard to reverse once fiber is already in the slurry.

Recovered fiber degrades every time it’s processed, resulting in a loss of structural integrity and bonding capacity through a natural mechanical breakdown called hornification.

Paper fibers can typically only be recycled between five and seven times before their structural quality falls below what’s usable for papermaking. Contamination accelerates that clock by degrading and weakening the fiber structures and forcing mills to run harsher cleaning cycles, which further stress the fiber and shorten usable life.

Why Contamination Costs Mills More Than Time

Given the inevitability of contamination in paper recycling, mills typically tolerate a certain amount of it as a cost of doing business. However, there’s a threshold beyond which the economics become unreasonable. Foreign materials, such as wet-strength additives or plastic films, can jam or wear down pulpers, screens and cleaners, leading to unplanned downtime and expensive repairs.

Firms that process every grade of secondary fiber, from mixed paper to bleached board grades, exist largely because mills need dependable, pre-screened sources. This specialized service involves an intuitive process of collecting secondary fiber, chopping and baling it, before reselling it to paper mills. Such provisions reduce the need for mills to clean raw curbside material themselves.

Quality issues also travel downstream in ways that are hard to fix later. Components like ink residues and mineral fillers left behind by coatings affect the strength and printability of the finished sheet. A mill running high-value grades such as printing paper can’t absorb much of this variability before product quality deteriorates and customers start rejecting shipments. That’s part of why contamination is treated as a direct line item on a mill’s cost sheet, affecting yield loss, energy use, institutional reputation and equipment maintenance considerations.

Catching Contaminants Before They Reach the Pulper

Recycling facilities rely on a layered approach to catching contamination before fibers reach the mill. Optical sorters can help identify and eject plastics and other non-paper materials from a moving belt. Magnets and eddy current separators pull out ferrous and nonferrous metals. Screens and trommels remove larger debris by size, while manual quality control stations still play a role, especially for catching irregular contaminants that automated systems can miss.

Even with all of that in place, one category of contaminants remains difficult to remove entirely. The industry term for this categorization is stickies, representing coatings, adhesive residues and tacky polymer fragments that survive pulping. Mill-collected wastepaper typically contains only 3% to 5% stickies by weight, while material pulled from residential collection runs closer to 15%.

The smallest of these are known as microstickies, and they make up the bulk of the problem, being notoriously difficult to filter out because conventional screening is built to catch larger particles. Once stickies deposit on the machine felt and rollers, they cause sheet defects and runnability problems that ripple through the entire production line.

Keeping Contamination Out From the Start

While sorting technology has become highly advanced, it is inherently limited. One of the most practical ways to manage contamination is to prevent it before it ever enters the collection stream, which means education and protocols matter as much as equipment. Waste generators, whether a retailer or a household recycling bin, benefit from clear guidance on what belongs in paper recycling and what doesn’t. Considering that every ton of paper recycled saves an estimated 17 trees, such efforts have a tangible impact on the environment.

On the facility side, protocols for bale inspection and rejection thresholds give recycling operations leverage to push quality upstream. Facilities can also track contamination rates by supplier and communicate problems directly, giving waste generators clearer feedback on what needs to change.

This is reminiscent of a challenge familiar to anyone managing feedstock or anaerobic digestion, where contamination from film plastics or nonorganic material in a seemingly clean organic stream can cause similarly disproportionate downstream damage relative to its volume.

Source variability is also important. Recovered fiber quality varies with the origin material itself, rather than with contamination alone.

Research on secondary fibers derived from fibreboard manufacturing residues and post-consumer wood waste shows that fiber properties can vary by source. This reinforces the idea that contamination management should not be separated from a clear understanding of the feedstock’s origin. The same logic applies broadly across recycling industries. It’s always important to know where material comes from, as it’s a first step toward truly understanding what’s likely to be wrong with it.

The Immense Environmental Value of Secondary Fiber

Contamination management in paper recycling is foundational to whether secondary fiber can compete with virgin pulp on cost and quality. The industry has gotten reasonably good at catching contaminants after the fact, but the more durable gains come from reducing what enters the stream in the first place.

Paper recycling offers a useful case study of the operational discipline required to turn waste into a dependable resource. It represents both the significant strides the recycling sector has made and what still needs to be done.

The post Contamination in Paper Recycling: Identifying, Managing and Minimizing Quality Issues first appeared on BioEnergy Consult.

1. Reducing Carbon Footprints

Robots are being created and used to reduce manufacturers’ carbon footprints. Factories and ports are known for releasing carbon into the atmosphere. Thus, encouraging climate change.

Some ports are turning to use automated robots to reduce their carbon footprint. Instead of gas-powered trucks and tools, robotic vehicles are being used instead. The robots do not rely on fossil fuels for power, so their engines run clean.

2. Speeding Up Recycling

Robots can take tedious jobs and speed them up. One of the jobs that robots are good at is sorting recycled material. They can do it quickly and efficiently, and they do not require all of the safety gear and training that humans need. Humans can sort about 800 items in an hour, but robots can sort around 2,000 items in the same amount of time.

3. Cleaning Tanks More Efficiently

Another place that robots are helping the environment is in chemical plants. These plants have massive tanks that need cleaning on a regular basis. The tanks have small openings, and they are filled with toxic chemicals and volatile gases. If you want to know how to choose a sustainable provider of specialty chemical, read this article.

In the past, humans have had to enter these confined spaces to clean the tanks. They had to be trained in several safety procedures, wear a plethora of safety gear, and undergo decontamination procedures each time they left the tanks. Now, robotic tank cleaning can do it in a fraction of the time, using less water and cleaning materials. They take away the danger from human employees, and robots can work 24 hours per day.

4. Improving Sustainable Manufacturing

Robots are being used in different types of manufacturing to create more efficiency with fewer resources. Robots reduce errors, so less waste is produced.

One computer company is relying on robots to pick reusable parts out of recycled products. This type of manufacturing sustainability in speeding up the transition to Industry 4.0. Less waste is produced and the robots are able to find and separate the small parts more efficiently than human hands can.

5. Cleaning Natural Resources

Robots are also being used outside of manufacturing to help with green living. Several organizations rely on robots to clean waterways. These robots float atop the water and collect the trash as it floats. Another water-cleaning robot is able to digest pollution. The robot turns the trash into fuel that powers the boat and that controls it. Inventors are working on upscaling the robot so it can power large tankers and cargo freighters, too.

Also Read: High-Tech Methods to Reduce Water Wastage in the Manufacturing Sector

Robots are also used to clean plants that become dirty from the garbage and grime in the water. By cleaning water and flora in it, robots are protecting the lives of animals that make their homes in wetlands and coastal areas. They also help clean food supplies for people.

The post How Robotics Contributes to Sustainable Manufacturing first appeared on BioEnergy Consult.

All of the wastes generated by the tannery can be gasified following pre-treatment methods such as maceration, drying and subsequent densification or briquetting. A combined drying and gasification process could eliminate solid waste, whilst providing a combustible gas as a tax-exempt renewable energy source, which the tannery can directly reuse. Gasification trials have illustrated that up to 70% of the intrinsic energy value of the wastes currently disposed can be recovered as “synthesis gas” energy.

Gasification technology has the potential to provide significant cost benefits in terms of power generation and waste disposal, and increase sustainability within the leather industry. The gasification process converts any carbon-containing material into a combustible gas comprised primarily of carbon monoxide, hydrogen and methane, which can be used as a fuel to generate electricity and heat.

A wide range of tannery wastes can be macerated, flash dried, densified and gasified to generate a clean syngas for reuse in boilers or other Combined Heat and Power systems. As a result up to 70% of the intrinsic energy value of the waste can be recovered as syngas, with up to 60% of this being surplus to process drying requirements so can be recovered for on-site boiler or thermal energy recovery uses.

A proprietary technology has been in commercial operation at a tanyard on the West Coast of Norway since mid 2001. The process employs gasification-and-plasma-cracking and offer the capability of turning the tannery waste problem to a valorising source that may add values to the plant owner in terms of excessive energy and ferrochrome, a harmless alloy that is widely used by the metallurgical industry. The process leaves no ashes but a non-leaching slag that is useful for civil engineering works, and, hence, no residues for landfill disposal

The post Thermal Conversion of Tannery Wastes first appeared on BioEnergy Consult.

The design and equipment choice for the fuel handling system, including preparation and refinement systems is carried out in accordance with the plant configuration. This is of special importance when the biomass is not homogeneous and contains impurities, typically for forest and agricultural wastes. Some of the common problems encountered have been the unpopular design and undersized fuel handling, preparation and feeding systems.

The fuel handling core systems and equipment are dependent on both the raw fuel type and condition as well as on the conversion/combustion technology employed. The core equipment in a biomass power plant include the following:

1. Fuel reception
2. Fuel weighing systems
3. Receiving bunkers
4. Bunker discharge systems (stoker, screw, grab bucket)
5. Fuel preparation
6. Fuel drying systems
7. Crushers
8. Chippers
9. Screening systems
10. Shredding systems
11. Grinding systems (for pulverised fuel burners)
12. Safety systems (explosion relieve, emergency discharge, fire detections etc)
13. Fuel transport and feeding
14. Push floors
15. Belt feeders
16. Conveyers and Elevators
17. Tube feeders
18. Fuel hoppers and silos (refined fuel)
19. Hopper, bunker and silo discharge
20. Feeding stokers
21. Feeding screws
22. Rotary valves

To enable any available biomass resource to be matched with the end use energy carrier required (heat, electricity or transport fuels) the correct selection of conversion technologies is required. Since the forms in which biomass can be used for energy are diverse, optimal resources, technologies and entire systems will be shaped by local conditions, both physical and socio-economic in nature.

As the majority of people in developing countries will continue using biomass as their primary energy source well into the next century, it is of critical importance that biomass-based energy truly can be modernized to yield multiple socioeconomic and environmental benefits.

The post Overview of Biomass Handling Equipment first appeared on BioEnergy Consult.

Audit energy use

Manufacturing plants typically use huge amounts of gas or electric energy. Adopting energy-efficient practices to optimize the plant’s energy use can slash costs considerably. Start by conducting an energy audit — ideally during the next scheduled plant downtime — to identify areas requiring improvement. HVAC systems, in particular, are huge energy and money drainers. Replace the filters and insulation so hot or cold air doesn’t escape. Repairs may also be needed. Temperature controls can be precisely automated with a programmable digital thermostat.

Additionally, common industrial lighting like incandescent bulbs should be switched out for LED lighting, which uses 75% less energy and lasts 25 times longer. Keep track of your eco-friendly changes and monitor energy use to make sure you’re operating at maximum efficiency.

Minimize waste

Reducing manufacturing waste is an effective way of making your plant more sustainable. For example, limit the quantity of excess raw materials your plant has in stock; order just enough material for the job it’s needed for each time. Work on recovering waste from both onsite and offsite locations with the help of techniques like centrifugation, electrolysis, reverse osmosis, or filtration.

Alternatively, recycling materials is a simple way to recover useful materials (recycling hazardous materials, however, usually isn’t eco-friendly). High-power, industrial shredders, in particular, can help you deal with a number of waste materials (such as, wood, plastic, rubber, and asphalt) by considerably reducing their size. Investing in durable equipment also reduces waste. For example, Bobcat T190 tracks are designed to minimize wear and tear to the tire. The thick, high-quality rubber lasts longer, so the tires need replacing less often.

Switch to renewable energy

Switching to renewable energy can help your plant generate its own clean electricity and heating. In fact, by 2035, renewable energy is set to be the main global power source, according to the 2019 Clean Jobs America report. Green power sources like solar, wind, biomass, geothermal heat, and rain are also cheaper than traditional fossil fuel energy sources.

Depending on your state, you may also be able to benefit from tax incentives and earn money back. You can also support renewable energy by selecting a renewable electricity tariff with your supplier. This means either some or all of the power your plant uses will be matched by your supplier purchasing green energy.

Making your manufacturing plant more eco-friendly certainly isn’t an overnight job. However, it’s well worth the time and effort it takes to make positive and permanent changes. Switching to sustainable practices and tech-driven equipment will help the environment, save energy, and improve your bottom line.

Recommended Reading: How to Tackle Vibrations using a Cariolis Flow Meter

The post Sustainable Manufacturing: Eco-Friendly Ideas For Your Plant first appeared on BioEnergy Consult.

An attractive disposal method for sewage sludge is to use it as alternative fuel source in cement industry. The resultant ash is incorporated in the cement matrix. Infact, several European countries, like Germany and Switzerland, have already started adopting this practice for sewage sludge management. Sewage sludge has relatively high net calorific value of 10-20 MJ/kg as well as lower carbon dioxide emissions factor compared to coal when treated in a cement kiln.

Use of sludge in cement kilns can also tackle the problem of safe and eco-friendly disposal of sewage sludge. The cement industry accounts for almost 5 percent of anthropogenic CO₂ emissions worldwide. Treating municipal wastes in cement kilns can reduce industry’s reliance on fossil fuels and decrease greenhouse gas emissions.

The use of sewage sludge as alternative fuel in clinker production is one of the most sustainable option for sludge waste management. Due to the high temperature in the kiln the organic content of the sewage sludge will be completely destroyed. The sludge minerals will be bound in the clinker after the burning process. The calorific value of sewage sludge depends on the organic content and on the moisture content of the sludge. Dried sewage sludge with high organic content possesses a high calorific value.  Waste coming out of sewage sludge treatment processes has a minor role as raw material substitute, due to their chemical composition.

The dried municipal sewage sludge has organic material content (ca. 40 – 45 wt %), therefore the use of this alternative fuel in clinker production will save fossil CO₂ emissions. According to IPCC default of solid biomass fuel, the dried sewage sludge CO₂ emission factor is 110 kg CO₂/GJ without consideration of biogenic content. The usage of municipal sewage sludge as fuel supports the saving of fossil fuel emission.

Sludge is usually treated before disposal to reduce water content, fermentation propensity and pathogens by making use of treatment processes like thickening, dewatering, stabilisation, disinfection and thermal drying. The sludge may undergo one or several treatments resulting in a dry solid alternative fuel of a low to medium energy content that can be used in cement industry.

The use of sewage sludge as alternative fuel is a common practice in cement plants around the world, Europe in particular. It could be an attractive business proposition for wastewater treatment plant operators and cement industry to work together to tackle the problem of sewage sludge disposal, and high energy requirements and GHGs emissions from the cement industry.

The post Use of Sewage Sludge in Cement Industry first appeared on BioEnergy Consult.

If you’ve never heard of the term, we can’t blame you. Most people don’t go around researching the economic system they live in — let alone alternative methods of production. Still, learning about circular economy is a great way to introduce other concepts — like Zero Waste manufacturing.

Of course, before we can do all that, we have to be aware of the system we currently have. With that in mind, let’s start by talking about the cause of the waste accumulation we are dealing with today.

Is Linear Economy Outdated?

Most people know that the amount of waste production and accumulation we are fighting against was ultimately caused by our economic system. The principles of linear economy are fairly simple. We take what we need from nature, and we transform these raw materials into products, which we dispose of when they’re no longer of use. Proponents of this system assumed that the planet is capable of providing infinite resources and regenerating an infinite amount of waste.

As we now know, that is simply not the case. So the system’s goal of maximizing production and sales has become impossible to envision without also seeing the eventual consequences.

After all, to keep production cycles going, we also need to create demand. That’s why many commodities we buy nowadays fall apart so quickly. The sooner your shirt rips open at the seams, the sooner you’ll go looking for a new one. But before we start pointing fingers at the fast fashion industry, remember that the system affects all commercial enterprises.

Is There a Different Kind of Approach We Can Opt for?

The excessive production and turnover of commodities we see in the linear economy are all but guaranteed to produce an enormous amount of waste. But as any waste management expert will tell you — it’s never too late to veer toward another approach.

In recent years, many people have been considering the benefits of transitioning to a zero waste lifestyle. Basically, rather than throwing their used up and damaged items, the goal of Zero Waste is to find a way to use them again. Whether it’s composting, making bags out of ripped jeans, or turning broken pans into planters — people are having to be creative with items they would have otherwise tossed in the trash.

But while most people are familiar with the philosophy in general, not many are aware of who started Zero Waste. Believe it or not, the phrase was coined in the ‘80s. However, Daniel Knapp, one of the first people who formulated the idea of total recycling, didn’t just talk the talk. Instead, he and his wife founded a salvaging market, Urban Ore, to focus on diverting waste from their local landfill and reusing it within the community.

Over the years, their ideas inspired many others to look for ways to reduce their waste production. Eventually, those principles reached the waste management industry and society at large. All through the ‘90s and early ‘00s, “no waste” slogans were everywhere. But where did all that activism lead?

The Birth of Circular Economy

The idea of a cyclical system of production is certainly older than the modern Zero Waste philosophy. However, the concept of a circular economy wasn’t mentioned until 1988. Even then, shifting perspectives around the subject of waste production and management certainly helped popularize the idea.

Ultimately, the philosophies behind these two concepts are closely aligned. Both aim to reduce and eventually eliminate the production of waste. Unlike the linear approach we discussed earlier, circular economy is all about letting the Earth recover and minimizing the amount of raw resources we take from it. But in addition to benefiting the planet, the principles of sustainable production also need to benefit businesses.

After all, rather than paying for raw materials that are directly taken from nature, circular economy advocates for reusing and recycling already-processed materials. That should reduce the cost of production — in theory. Unfortunately, recycling technology is still too expensive for some businesses to invest in. So how can we, as consumers, nudge them in the right direction?

How Do We Start Transitioning to Circular Economy?

On an individual level, one thing we can all do is check our consumption habits. Don’t just throw out old items if you don’t have to. Instead, learn how to mend and transform objects into items you can keep using and loving.

Additionally, you can transition to shopping from sustainable local businesses. Ultimately, the cost of shipping is much greater than you might think. If nothing else, shopping locally tends to have a lower carbon footprint.

These individual decisions should eventually influence businesses to reduce the number of commodities they produce in the first place. But there’s one more thing we can do to prompt the industry to change its ways. Namely, we can influence policies with our vote.

Getting people to participate in this as a political movement is the best way to put pressure on companies. If there are laws and sanctions in place to regulate the production of commodities and waste, businesses will have to adjust their habits.

Can We Achieve Zero Waste Manufacturing?

As we have previously stated, all we need to transition to Zero Waste manufacturing is a few key industry sectors. According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, these sectors should be steel, plastic, and aluminum manufacturing, as well as cement and food industries. By getting these five sectors to reuse materials during the production process in the factory, we could cut carbon emissions by 3.7 billion tons by 2050. New technologies like artificial intelligence are making it possible to make the transition to sustainable product development.

Best of all, the emerging models of circular economy will not only stimulate business growth but also create many new job opportunities. So the sooner we take that leap, the sooner our planet can start recovering.

The post Zero Waste Manufacturing: How Can We Transition to a Circular Economy? first appeared on BioEnergy Consult.