Reaching Net Zero within a Circular Economy Quantifying waste sector-base

Descriptions

The UK has a legally binding commitment to Net Zero by 2050 and the CCC has stated we are 'not on track to hit this target', we therefore must be able to quantify the impact of new priorities and align our nationally determined contribution with emerging policies. The SoS has announced the circular economy as one of the top 5 priorities for Defra, highlighting the need to move from our 'take make throw' economy to one which uses a systemic approach across the full material and product lifecycle, maintaining the value of our resources for as long as possible. The Circular Economy is a transformative transition, however, virtually nothing is known about how this transition will impact our commitment to Net Zero by 2050. Without this knowledge we risk having contradicting priorities which will mean we do not meet future targets and commitments. To actualise a growth based, just circular economy, evidence gaps around how this transition could impact current targets need to be filled. As circular approaches are adopted, emissions will change and could have unanticipated consequences (e.g increase emissions in different sectors or not be reflected in our current accounting system). This work will concentrate on specific case studies within the waste sector, and will look beyond this, to understand initial cross cutting impacts of circularity across the national atmospheric emission inventory, acting as a proof of concept for other waste streams within a circular economy. Initially these waste streams will be medical plastic, food, textile, and WEEE waste; all of which are expected to change as greater recycling, reduction and reuse approaches are expected to take effect. This work is needed to begin to quantify the relationship between our current statutory commitment to Net Zero by 2050 and the recent priority to move to a circular economy, identifying the waste streams which pose the greatest risk to carbon-efficient circular economy.