circular economy related international practices and...

Circular Economy related

international practices

and policy trends:

Current situation and practices on

sustainable production and consumption

and international Circular Economy

development policy summary and analysis

Prof. Dr. Peter Heck

IfaS

Environmental Campus Birkenfeld

20.2.2006

Circular Economy related international practices and policy trends

© Prof. Dr. Peter Heck (2006) 2

Table of Contents

1 Introduction on Circular Economy and Methodology............4

1.1 The need for new resource system policy: Examples from the

European Commission...................................................................... 7

1.2 Facts and background information ................................................ 11

1.3 Material Flow Accounting (MFA) and

Total Material Requirement (TMR).................................................. 14

2 Country studies ......................................................................19

2.1 Germany.............................................................................................. 19

2.1.1 History of German Environmental Protection policy ..........................19

2.1.2 Sustainable development......................................................................21

2.1.3 Waste management – steps towards a recycling economy................31

2.2 Japan................................................................................................. 38

2.2.1 Sustainable Development in Japan ......................................................39

2.2.2 Energy in Japan.....................................................................................42

2.2.3 Establishing a sound Material-Cycle Society ......................................49

2.2.4 Today situation of waste management in Japan .................................52

2.2.5 Changing consumption pattern............................................................57

2.2.6 Integrated environment and development in decision making ..........62

2.3 Netherlands ...................................................................................... 66

2.3.1 Situation of the environment .................................................................66

2.3.2 Material Flow policy in the Netherlands................................................68

2.4 USA.................................................................................................... 70

2.4.1 Waste Management ................................................................................71

2.5 European Union................................................................................ 83

2.5.1 Sustainable use and management of natural resources

and the Lisbon Process ............................................................................85

2.5.2 Options for a resource policy ................................................................91

2.5.3 Recommendation of the Council on Material Flows and Resource

productivity towards the European Policy Committee (EPOC)..............93



3 International circular economy development policy summary

and analysis .................................................................................95



1 Introduction on Circular Economy and Methodology

Circular Economy (CE) alludes to the ecological cycles of nature, which have existed for bil-

lions of years with a constant stock of matter and influx of sun energy. In this natural econ-

omy waste does not exist. All matter is recycled with the help of sun energy as the needed

additional energy source for 100% recycling. With the increase of man made waste and the

degradation of renewable and non-renewable resources, there is a growing concern that the

principles of nature will sooner or later catch up with us.1

More practically explained Circular Economy means reducing resource use and reducing the

load on our natural sinks. The CE concept is central part of the ecological economy and the

industrial ecology. Industrial ecology as well as Ecological Economy are interdisciplinary dis-

ciplines with involvement from economists, engineers and natural scientists. Internationally

the basic idea of Circular Economy is very popular in China. In practical issues some Euro-

pean Countries like the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Japan have developed strate-

gies, which can be related to certain king to CE approaches.

It is of crucial importance to include the energy question into all material flow considerations.

As mentioned in the first lines of this report a 100 % recycling in the natural system only is

possible in a sustainable way because of the constant influx of solar energy into the system.

In order to copy from the nature human societies must establish recycling systems by taking

the energy question into account. For example we will have a closer look at the waste man-

agement system of different developed countries. Many of them still consider composting to

be part of a good material recycling. But as a matter of fact, composting means “getting rid of

useful renewable energy by wasting fossil energy as Figure 1 clearly shows. Composting

needs energy input whereas fermentation generates about 70 to 140 litter oil equivalent per

ton of biomass input.

1 ECON: Circular Economy – An interpretation, Oslo 2004



Figure 1: Comparison between composting and fermentation

Source: own compilation

Another example comes from the agricultural field. With his invention of artificial fertilizer

Justus Liebig proved that scientific and technological progress and fossil energy could help

to expand to a certain degree the limits of nature. The introduction of artificial fertilizer in-

creased considerably harvests and made it possible to nourish the rapidly expanding popula-

tion of Europe during the early industrialization. Only by using an enormous amount of fossil

fuel to generate fertilizer we are able to provide enough food for a growing world population.

But can a CE conception work with an agriculture based on fossil non-renewable and limited

energy source? Same aspects in the field of agriculture could be discussed with reference to

water supply. Aside from energy this already is and much more will be the next crucial and

limiting factor to growth and well-being. Circular Economy must consider the water question

also!

Talking about Circular Economy therefore means considering more than just waste man-

agement. In any case we also have to consider agriculture, water, soil, biodiversity etc. But

the most important area is energy. A resource efficient society only can be established by in-

troducing a sustainable energy supply alongside the resource and environmental protection

strategy.

The reports about worldwide status of Circular Economy therefore are misleading. Techni-

cally spoken a 100% recycling society is possible no matter to what extend we include eco

design and avoidance or sufficiency strategies. But energetically seen many recycling tech-

nologies or processes are not possible in the framework of a Sustainable Development. En-

ergy thus becomes the key issue in developing Circular Economy societies or Sustainable

Development societies.



Unfortunately only few countries so far are working on holistic, systemic, and interdisciplinary

approaches for Circular Economy. China though being the frontrunner in using the term of

CE risks to be reused to a kind of resource or waste management conception.

Maybe most promising so far seem to be the Sustainable Development strategies of Ger-

many or the Netherlands.

Within the discussion about a Circular Economy strategy Germany often is called a forerun-

ner to Circular Economy. This is mainly because of the far reaching “Closed Substance Cy-

cle and Waste Management Act” which entered into force in 1996. Though this waste man-

agement law certainly is a milestone within a broad Circular Economy strategy Germany

rather aims at a sustainable society. A sustainable society emphasizes besides technical as-

pects mainly on social and economic aspects. Nature capital plays a key role in Sustainable

Development strategies. Resources must be preserved so that future generations may have

the same chances for living and development than the today generations. And according to

the Rio and Johannesburg declarations Sustainable Development is closely linked to interna-

tional responsibility for poverty alleviation and fair access for all human beings to the world

resources.

The term Circular Economy often is misunderstood as a kind of recycling society. But a recy-

cling society only can become a Circular Economy if the energy question is taken into ac-

count. Aside from resources and waste problems the sustainable availability of energy is the

key issue for a Circular Economy. Therefore every state claiming to achieve a Circular Econ-

omy must develop a strategy for sustainable energy supply. Energy saving and renewable

energy technologies thus become a key issue of Circular Economy societies.

Another key issue of Circular Economy is land management and soil protection. In the total

material requirement analysis of the European Commission land use and soil use is a key

point of concern. Therefore for all countries aiming at Circular Economy the land and soil

question are additional crucial aspects of concern. For example in Germany only 3.6% of

primary energy supply is renewable and every day at least 60ha nature land is turned into

streets, houses or other infrastructure buildings. Though these figures are not promising

Germany among the OECD countries already is a frontrunner for the idea of Circular Econ-

omy.



1.1 The need for new resource system policy: Examples from the European

Commission

Speaking at a press conference following the ECOFIN meeting in Luxembourg on June 2

2004 the Irish Minister for Finance Charlie McCreevy pointed out that "in line with the initia-

tive of the G8, Finance Ministers called on oil producers to provide adequate supplies so that

oil prices would remain consistent with stable, sustained growth in the world economy.” The

joint activities of G8 and EU show the connection between economic development and sup-

ply with natural resources which was already stressed in the European Commission’s com-

munication on the follow-up to the Lisbon Strategy: “Sustainable growth requires that eco-

nomic growth contributes to social progress and respects the environment, that social policy

shore up economic performance and that environmental policy makes economic sense.” Al-

though the connection between economic development and use of natural resources

seem to become acknowledged there is yet no Community strategy for the sustainable

use and management of natural resources. Reactions to acute scarcities in resource sup-

ply therefore often result in spontaneous and uncoordinated activities of the member states.

For example, scarcities in crude oil supply have resulted in unilateral decreases of fuel taxa-

tion leading to distortions in the Single Market. This is also a risk during the current oil crisis,

but also during previous shortages e.g. in September 2000 when oil prices lead to consider-

able pressure on national governments.

European governments have repeatedly experienced shortages in oil supply causing eco-

nomic risks and protest in society. There is a likely rise in the probability of these experiences

because supply with non-renewable natural resources will become more and more problem-

atic with growing demand primarily from developing societies. A land-marking publication

was the study “Limits to Growth” by Donnelly and Denis Meadows, which was issued in 1972

by the Club of Rome. Since then, prices and public attention has more or less oscillated on a

high level although it turned out that the implications of resource use are much more prob-

lematic than any scarcity of resources. In 1989 Robert U. Ayres drew attention to the “indus-

trial metabolism” asking for a more systematic approach to material use. A former senior

economist of the World Bank, Herman Daly, proposed 1992 a steady state economy as an-

swer to the physical limits of economic growth. Others followed and managed to measure the

resource dependency from the economic macro down to the micro level.



Most recently Lester Brown from the Worldwatch Institute pointed out the need for a new

Eco Economy with a special designed New Materials Economy.2 In fact, many historical de-

velopments are connected to physical prerequisites of human development. The settlement

of major civilizations along rivers, the rise and fall of the Polynesians, the industrialization of

coal mining regions and the Gulf wars of our times have a physical background determined

by the exploitation of natural resources. Even the foundations of the European Union can be

traced back to an institution for the joint management of natural resources: The European

Community for Coal and Steel.

Motivations for Sustainable Use and Management of Natural Resources

Sustainable use and management of natural resources is motivated by:

I.) The geo-strategic function of natural resources

II.) Environmental pressure caused by the consumption of natural resources

I.) Geo-strategic

The geo-strategic motive is connected to the biological and technological necessity to use

natural resources. Access to water, for example, is a limiting factor in the Middle East and

other arid and semi-arid regions, determining the survival and further development of socie-

ties. Oil is a limiting factor in the development of any industrialized nation. Natural resources

have therefore a strategic function. Scarcity is therefore an issue with important implications

for security and economic development. Those societies, which manage to control strategic

resources, can control the fate of their own and other nations. The EU strategy for the use

and management of natural resources will therefore have repercussions on the relation to

other developed and developing nations. The EU may defend or even increase the high level

of consumption against the interests of nations that want to acquire similar living standards or

there could be a “Global Deal” to reconcile fair shares of the earth’s “environmental space”

among all Nations.3

To ensure the supply of strategic resources Europe has different options:

1. Military interventions to guarantee resource access

2. Trade with resources exporting countries and influence on the terms of trade

2 Brown, Lester R.: Eco Economy. Buidling an Economy for the Earth, London 2001 3 See Hille 1998, Carley/Spapens 1998



3. Improving resource-productivity to achieve independence from resource exporting

countries

4. Improving domestic production of natural resources or substitution (e.g. by a shift to

renewables).

Since there is yet no official policy for the sustainable use and management of natural re-

sources, it cannot be said to which extent these options become relevant for Europe. Never-

theless, it can be said that:

- Option 1 increases the risk of international conflicts and hampers global, regional

and national security

- Option 2 as it is currently pursued tends to increase the disparities between richer

countries which use their economic, political and educational advance to secure ac-

cess to cheap resources and the poorer countries which are left with a minimum room

for bargain and need to be content when selling their nature for low value

- Option 3 provides a multiple-win strategy because it combines economic and envi-

ronmental interests with lower risks for international security while allowing to develop

production and consumption patterns with a globally more balanced use of natural re-

sources

- Option 4 can be chosen only to a limited extent due to the limitation of agriculture and

forestry land which although constituting the major share of the EU´s territory will not

allow to provide only a major part of the non-renewable resource supply on a biomass

basis; nevertheless, full potentials for technical renewability, i.e. recycling, are not yet

used completely. Therefore, option 4 can be implemented only together with option 3

and to the extent that the latter has successfully reduced resource demand. There-

fore, the third option, which is dealt with in this paper, will be a “directionally

safe” option with positive effects on European security.

II.) Environmental pressure

Environmental pressures are not only connected to the output but also to the input into an

economy when extracting natural resources for industrial processing. For example, consider-

able destruction of whole landscapes is connected to mining activities. The infrastructure and

the process of transport for further industrial use in Europe exert additional pressure. Such

pressure can partly be traced back to the use of resources; partly it is a more indirect result.



Because every known and unknown environmental impact caused by human activities can

be related to the metabolism of a society, it makes sense to monitor and gradually reduce the

overall consumption of natural resources to a level compatible with the carrying-capacity of

the earth’s ecosystem. This line of reasoning leads consequently to a new industrial

“Leitbild”: 4 Society creates welfare by reducing its resource use. This approach is reflected

in the objective of the 6th Environmental Action Programme of the European Union: The EU

wants to increase its resource efficiency “to bring about more sustainable production and

consumption patterns, thereby decoupling the use of resources and the generation of waste

from the rate of economic growth and aiming to ensure that the consumption of renewable

and non-renewable resources does not exceed the carrying capacity of the environment. 5

This objective needs to be differentiated according to the properties of the different renew-

able and non-renewable natural resources.6 It will also have to take the various impacts into

account. Nevertheless, a strategy of decoupling will have to be based upon general man-

agement rules. While Europe is intending to decouple the use of resources from economic

growth, it cannot expect the developing world to do so, at least not at the same rate. This has

been acknowledged by several documents related to the United Nations discourse on envi-

ronment and development:

� Rio Agenda 21: “Poverty and environmental Degradation are closely interrelated.

While poverty results in certain kinds of environmental stress, the major cause of the

continued deterioration of the global environment is the unsustainable pattern of

consumption and production, particularly in industrialized countries, which is a

matter of grave concern, aggravating poverty and imbalances.” (Chapter 4.3.)

� Rio Agenda 21: “Special attention should be paid to the demand for natural re-

sources generated by unsustainable consumption and to the efficient use of those re-

sources consistent with the goal of minimizing depletion and reducing pollution. Al-

though consumption patterns are very high in certain parts of the world, the basic

consumer needs of a large section of humanity are not being met. This results in ex-

cessive demands and unsustainable lifestyles among the richer segments, which

place immense stress on the environment. The poorer segments, meanwhile, are un-

able to meet food, health care, shelter and educational needs. Changing consumption

4 As for the word leitmotif there is no appropriate English translation for Leitbild. Leitbild means a guiding

vision or image 5 COM (2001) 32 6 See further subreport 4 background study papers on “Fishery”, “Forestry”, “Land”, “Water”, and “Material Flows”



patterns will require a multipronged strategy focusing on demand, meeting the basic

needs of the poor, and reducing wastage and the use of finite resources in the pro-

duction process.” (chapter 4.5.)

� Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (UNCED 2002): “Encourage and promote

the development of a 10-year framework of programmes in support of regional and

national initiatives to accelerate the shift towards sustainable consumption and pro-

duction to promote social and economic development within the carrying capacity of

ecosystems by addressing and, where appropriate, delinking economic growth and

environmental degradation through improving efficiency and sustainability in the use

of resources and production processes, and reducing resource degradation, pollution

and waste. All countries should take action, with developed countries taking the

lead, taking into account the development needs and capabilities of developing coun-

tries through mobilization, from all sources, of financial and technical assistance and

capacity-building for developing countries.”

The following paragraphs will explain why Europe should take a lead for a sustainable use

and management of natural resources. Such a lead position will give also an incentive to de-

veloping countries to follow. The geo-strategic function and the environmental pressures

caused by the consumption of natural resources lead to a strategic socio-economic re-

sponse.

1.2 Facts and background information

While some countries become richer other countries are economically lagging behind. While

in some countries the numbers of people grow rapidly other countries stagnate with an age-

ing population. These developments determine the metabolism of societies and thus the use

and management of natural resources. While there is sufficient data on the development of

populations and economic performance, the overall consumption of natural resources is only

known for a small but increasing number of countries. The EEA regularly reports on the re-

source use of the EU with material flow indicators.7 For the rest of the world there is only suf-

ficient data on energy consumption. Energy is a key resource. First, it is widely linked to use

of natural resources, i.e. fossil energy carriers. Secondly, the use of fossil energy carriers

leads to major impacts on the environment, in particular in the form of (material) emissions

7 EEA 2000, EEA 2001, EEA 2003



(CO2, SO2, NOx etc.). Thirdly, the extraction and further use of non-energetic resources (e.g.

steel, cement, etc) also require the use of energy. Because of the material implications of the

energy sector it is possible to draw certain conclusions with regard to the global consumption

of natural resources in general.

Energy supply and the accompanying consumption of natural resources are not evenly dis-

tributed. 1971 about 885 million people were living in the (rich) OECD countries. This rich

quarter of the world’s population consumed around 62% of the world’s energy. At the turn of

the century the absolute number of people living in OECD countries rose by 28%, but their

relative share of the world population decreased to around 19%. Nevertheless, they still con-

sume 54% of the global energy supply. The remaining approximately 80% of the world popu-

lation use the other bare half of the world’s energy supply. In other words, people living in

OECD countries consume four to five times more energy than people living in non-OECD

countries. At the same time, newly industrialized countries catch up and emulate western

styles of industrialization. A combination of factors determines the consumption of natural re-

sources – population, economic affluence, and technology being the most important ones.

Ehrlich/Ehrlich (1990) have linked these factors in a formula defining the ecological impact of

human development on nature.

I = P x A x T

With:

I (impact): global environmental problems such as climate change, loss of biodiversity and

degradation of nature, over-use of natural resources etc.;

P (population): demographic development (global population growth);

A (affluence): per capita welfare in general and per capita economic growth in particular;

T (technology): technological state of the art, particularly the technological relationship be-

tween demographic and economic development on the one hand and impacts on the envi-

ronment on the other hand. The IPAT-formula can be applied to quantify the contribution

of the main determinants driving energy use. It is also useful to discuss options for fu-

ture policies.

The IPAT-formula to the energy consumption in OECD countries and non-OECD countries

shows that two factors, namely population and economic growth are the driving forces be-

hind the increasing energy consumption. In OECD countries economic growth has been the

main contributor, in non-OECD countries population growth. Mainly in the OECD world en-

ergy efficient technological improvements have slowed down the rising demand for energy.



Figure 2 and table 1 show the trend in increase of worldwide energy demand divided by dif-

ferent energy sources.

Figure 2: Forecasts for trends on world energy demand

Source: Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, METI




Table 2 shows the today situation and the forecast for 2010 for the percentage of renewable

energy supply in the three main economic regions.

Table 2: Renewable energy supply as part of total energy supply

European and the United States

FY 1998 Objective for FY 2010

Japan *4.9% About 7%

America 7.00% 6.90%

EU 5.30% 11.60%


1.3 Material Flow Accounting (MFA) and Total Material Requirement (TMR)

The measurement of flows of materials through the economy is to assess the pressure of

such throughput on the carrying capacity of natural systems. The approach is based on



thermodynamic laws of conservation and entropy of energy and matter.8 The MFA make use

of these physical laws by applying them to an economic region or political territory like a

country. Economies or societies need influx of material from the environment and abroad.

Those materials leave the economy as exports and residual or industrial outputs of waste

and emissions. During a particular accounting period some material inputs may accumulate

in long lasting fixed assets or inventories. This accumulation can be interpreted as – physi-

cal- growth.9 The MFA assess the Total Material Requirement (TMR) on the input side of ma-

terial flow balances and the Total Domestic Output (TDO) on the output side. The TMR in

particular is to measure the overall environmental pressure from natural resource use by

adding up the inputs of raw materials in tonnes, including hidden flows or ecological back-

packs.10 The purpose of such weighing by weight is to capture all kinds of actual and poten-

tial environmental impacts and welfare effects. For our Circular Economy considerations in

this paper it is of crucial importance to know about the energy and ecosystem side effects of

material flows.

The Total Material Consumption (TMC) of industrialized countries ranges between 31 and 74

t/cap. If the rest of the world population were to acquire similar levels of material consump-

tion in the next 50 years worldwide consumption of resources would lead about 279-666 bil-

lion tons. This would double or even increase earth movement on global land surface by a

factor of 5 (Bringezu et al 2003). This would imply that the known and unknown environ-

mental pressure connected to the consumption of natural resources would rise accordingly. It

cannot be said whether the environmental pressure is coupled to material consumption in a

linear or non-linear way. As a first conservative estimate linear coupling can be assumed.

This would imply that in the next 50 years overall environmental pressure would not de-

crease but rise by a factor 2-5.

Total Material Requirement gives information about the material intensity of societies or

economies. As shown in figures 3a and 3b the TMR per GDP as well as TMR per capita var-

ies greatly between different countries.

8 See Georgescu-Roegen 1979 9 See Bartelmus, 2002



Figure 3a: Material Intensity of different economies

Source: Sustainable Europe Institute, 2005

Figure 3b: Material inputs per capita


The total domestic material consumption in the EU is shown in Figure 4 below.

10 Ecological rucksacks are defined as „the sum of all materials which are not physically includes in the economic output under

consideration but which are necessary for production, use, recycling and disposal (Spangenberg, et al 1999). More information

is this topic can be found with the Wuppertal Institute.



Figure 4: Domestic Material Consumption EU 15 1970-2001


More detailed information about real TMR we can get by including hidden material flows like

erosion and excavation we read from figure 5 below.

Figure 5: Composition of TMR in the EU and selected other states

Figure 6 shows the relation between GDP and TMR by comparing different countries. Re-

markable is the positive trend in the USA but also the worsening situation in Japan, Nether-

lands and Finland. The last three countries being well known for successful environmental

policy strategies.



Figure 6: TMR and GDP of the EU compared with selected member states and other

countries



2 Country studies

2.1 Germany

2.1.1 History of German Environmental Protection policy

The year 1969 can be labeled as the birthday of a German environmental policy. As shown

above the public opinion could not possibly be named as the driving force for the induction of

a new (environmental) policy. Pehle (1997) gives two main reasons for the start of environ-

mental policy in Germany:

“First of all we have to consider the political situation in Germany at the end of the 60s.

The Free Democratic Party (FDP) saw a good opportunity to use environmental policy as

a new topic to be identified as an innovative reform party. Within the new coalition with

the Social Democratic party this opened a new policy field. Second already in 1968 the

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) had organ-

ized an international symposium with the title “Man and the Biosphere”, the Council of

Europe had declared 1970 the Year of Nature Conservation and finally the intensive

preparations for the first United Nations Conference on the Environment of Man to be

held in 1972 tipped the balance towards a thorough design of

environmental policy.” 11

The federal government presented an immediate action program in 1970 followed by the first

comprehensive “Environmental program of the federal government” in 1971. Since then the

federal environmental policy followed three guiding principles:

1. Precautionary protection of the environment,

2. Causal responsibility (i.e. polluter pays principle)

3. Co-operation

11 Pehle, 1997, p.161



The passing of the environmental program was preceded by a reorganization of the federal

government. The Chancellor transferred the department of water industry, air pollution con-

trol and noise abatement, which till than belonged to the Federal Ministry of Health, to the

sphere of responsibility of the Federal ministry of the Interior. In 1972 the basic law was

amended to allow the feral government to become active in areas of environmental policy.

Till 1974 a series of environmental laws like e.g. Waste Disposal Act (1972) or Federal Emis-

sion Control Act (1974), were passed. Institutions like the Council of Experts for Environ-

mental Issues (1971) or the Federal Environmental Agency were founded.

The period from 1974 to 1978 was massively influenced by the oil crisis and the successive

recession in Germany. The early advantages in environmental protection had to be defended

against trade associations and labor unions. Between 1975 and 1978 no new legislative

plans in the field of environmental protection were initiated. The highly motivated government

officials in the Ministry of the Interior could reach barely a keeping of the status quo.

A wide network of citizen’s initiatives and environmental groups characterized the time from

1978 to the end of the 80s. These groups draw support from the dissatisfaction of many

Germans with the laisser faire policy of the German government with regard to environmental

protection. The nuclear accident in Tschernobyl as well the “Waldsterben” pushed many ac-

tivists to new and existing NGO´s as well as to ecological parties. The political result was re-

markable. A new party – The Greens – started to make their way through regional parlia-

ments (1980 Hessen) into the German Bundestag (1983). In 1986 the Federal Ministry of the

Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety was established. This is said to be an

immediate reaction to the mal performance of the Ministry of Interior with regard to the

Tschernobyl catastrophe.

The period from 1990 to 1998 was influenced by German reunification. Loads of work also in

the environmental protection field had to be done in East Germany. Enhancing environ-

mental protection on a principal base became a subordinate campaign issue. Nevertheless

crucial aspects like the energy feeding law and the Kyoto protocol were pushed through and

became successful. The dismantling of the former East German industry helped the govern-

ment to reach ambitious Carbondioxid reduction targets. Especially in the waste manage-

ment field, improvements were made by the Closed Substance Cycle and Waste Manage-

ment Act 1996.

Since 1998 the red-green coalition government is struggling hard to boost environmental pro-

tection against an ever more worsening economic environment. Using the slogan ecological

modernization, the topics efficient resource use, sustainable development and renewable



energies, are put into the focus of environmental policy. At least renewable energies became

a success story of this period.

Figure 7: Development of environmental policy in Germany

Source: Umweltbundesamt: Cleaner Production Germany, Berlin 2002

2.1.2 Sustainable development

According to the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear

Safety, there is a national sustainability strategy with defined indicators. The most important

of these indicators can be seen in table 1,2. The model of sustainable development was first

applied to the environmental sector. In this 30 years of experience could be taken and built

upon. Regarding the tree essential principals of German environmental policy pollution pre-

vention, polluters pay, cooperation principle they are mirrored in the demand of more recent

documents, e.g. the Charta of Aalborg12 and yet important aspects were expanded upon:

- Integration of economic activities, quality of living and protection of resources

- Responsibility of today’s generations for future ones

- Consultation processes within local authorities (Local Agenda 21), as well as between

local authorities (inter-communal cooperation, local development – and –aid-



cooperation, networks).13

On June 1994 the German parliament called on the government to give all necessary sup-

port to the implementation of the decisions made in Rio de Janeiro. Additionally the parlia-

ment decided to build and strengthen local self-government structures in developing coun-

tries to aid in regional and local self-help and accepted and recognized the “Charta of Berlin”

of the 17. 10. 1992 as the guiding principle for local North-South development.14 Since the

model of Sustainable Development was anchored in the constitution in 1994, it has become

a principle of government policy. In consequence preservation of out natural resources as

the basis for human life is viewed as a cross-sectoral task for governmental action. In

1997/98 Sustainable Development was adopted into the Regional Planning Act and into the

Building Code, and in 2001 into the amendment to the German federal law for nature con-

servation. The presidents of the federal states in Germany confirmed and accepted the con-

sequences arising from the decisions taken in Rio in a bill of 1st December 1994.15 In 2001

the Council for Sustainable Development comprising 17 members from all segments of soci-

ety was established. The Councils task is to advise the Federal Government when formulat-

ing its sustainability strategy and to promote social dialogue surrounding the targets and

measures of Sustainable Development. Germanys Sustainable Development strategy also

includes special nature conservation laws, renewable energy and energy saving regulations

as well environmental information laws. A selection of the most important laws is shown in

Box 1.

Box 1: Important laws and regulations (beside the field of waste management)

- Act on the Prevention of Harmful Effects on the Environment Caused by Air Pollution,

Noise, Vibration, an Similar Phenomena

Federal Immission Control Act (Bundesimmissionsschutzgesetz BimSchG)

It is the purpose of this Act to protect human beings, animals and plants, soil, water, the at-

mosphere as well as cultural assets and other material goods from harmful effects on the envi-

ronment and to take precautions against the emergence of any such harmful effects on the en-

vironment.

12 Charta of European cities on the road to sustainability. Passed on 27th of may 1994 by the delegates at the European confer-

ence on sustainable cities in Aalborg, Denmark 13 FME, 2001, p.9-10 14 FME, 2001 p. 10



- Act on Granting Priority to Renewable Energy Sources

(Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz EEG) Became effective on April 1st 2000 (last amendment

21st July 2004). Main Objective: Increase the percentage of renewable energy sources in

power supply to at least 12.5 % by 2010 and to 20 % by 2020 [long-term objective: 50 per

Cent by 2050] and realize Sustainable Development

Aside from the well-known examples in field of waste management the most Circular Econ-

omy like law can be found in the field of renewable energy. Because of the laws and regula-

tions in this field Germany is constantly increasing its percentage of renewable energy as a

part of total primary energy demand.

The following 2 tables show the targets, which were set by the German government for the

years 2020 and 2050 with regard to energy supply and consumption.

Development of primary energydemand and CO2 emissions in

Germany till 2050

15 Resolution of the German presidents of states on the political consequences arising from the UNCED-Conference in Rio in

1992.

Figure 8:



Development of electricity supplytill 2050

The overwhelming success of the Renewable Energy law in Germany can be taken from the

following 4 figures (10-14) showing the increase in solar thermal energy, in photovoltaic, in

wind and biomass energy installations.

Figure 9:



Figure 10 Figure 11

Photovoltaics

Figure 12

Development of installed wind capacityin Germany and the EU till 2003

Figure 13

Development of biogas plants in Germany till

2003

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

An

lag

en

an

zah

l B

iog

asan

lag

en

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

> 500 kWel

70-499 kWel

< 70 kWel

August 2003 ca. 1.700 Biogas plants

Quelle: IE, Monitoringbericht Biomasse, 2003



Figure 14

Development of wood chip cogeneration plants

Nov. 2003 ca. 80 plants

Quelle: IE, Monitoringbericht Biomasse, 2003 / Berücksichtigung aller in Planung befindlicher Anlagen

Figure 15 below shows the inter linkage between waste policy and energy policy. Through

the Renewable Energy law waste wood more and more is considered to be a resource rather

than waste. The disposal price goes down from 100 € in 1998 to under 20 € in 2003 and for

2005 we expect to have income from offering waste wood to the energy market. This exam-

ple shows hoe higher society payments in one sector can lower costs in another. Only con-

sidered together - waste and energy - it will be clear that for the society this solution is not

more expensive but much more sustainable.

Figure 15: The relationship between waste management and renewable energy sup-

port

Waste wood use for cogeneration

Price development

Quelle: IE, Monitoringbericht Biomasse, 2003

Source: IE Monitoringbericht Biomasse 2003



Figure 16 shows the energy supply of the Zero Emission Environmental Campus in Birk-

enfeld. Former organic waste is used to supply electricity and heat to 2000 students. In addi-

tion fertilizer is produced from organic household waste. The two key technologies perform-

ing the energy supply in this example are biogas from waste food and greenery residues and

waste wood chip cogeneration. This example shows how Circular Economy on a micro level

works or could work!

Figure 16: Zero Emission Campus

Projects like Zero Emission Campus only became possible because of the new German En-

ergy Feeding Law. Box 2 gives details on the Renewable Energy Law.




Box 2: Act on Granting Priority to Renewable Energy Sources

Renewable Energy Law, (Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz EEG), became effective on April 1st

2000 (last amendment 21st July 2004).

Purpose

• Facilitate a Sustainable Development of energy supply for the sake of

protecting the climate, the nature and the environment

• Reduce costs of energy supply in national economy

• Avoiding conflicts over fossil fuels

• Promote further development of technologies for the generation of

electricity from renewable energy sources

Main Objective

• Increase the percentage of renewable energy sources in power

supply to at least 12.5 % by 2010 and to 20 % by 2020 [long-term objective:

50 per Cent by 2050]

• Realize Sustainable Development

Scope of Application

• Priority connections to the grid systems for general electricity supply of

plant generating electricity from renewable energy sources

• Priority purchase and transmission of, and payment for, such electricity

by the grid system operators

Obligation to purchase and transmit electricity

• Grid system operators shall connect plants generating electricity

from renewable energy to their systems and guarantee priority purchase

and transmission of all electricity from renewable energy sources

supplied by such plants

Obligation to pay fees

• Grid system operator shall pay fees for electricity generated

in plants exclusively using renewable energy sources



Common provisions for purchase, transmission and payment of fees

• The amount of the fees shall be determined according to the share oft

then plant’s capacity and the art of generating electricity from renewable energies

• The minimum fees shall be paid from the date of commissioning for a

period of 20 calendar years as well as for the year of commissioning.

In Germany many pilot project show the possibility of turning the fossil energy system into

renewable energy system. One project the Zero Emission Village Weilerbach is shown be-

low.

Box 3: German Pilot Projekt: Zero Emission Village Weilerbach (ZEV)

Municipality/Community Weilerbach

• 18,000 residents including 4000 citizens of the United States

• Surface area: 7.200 square kilometres

• Located in Rhineland-Palatinate, near Kaiserslautern

• Project started in 2001

Objective

• Prevention of fossil CO2 emissions, long-term � to reduce fossil CO2 emissions

to zero to a CO2 neutral energy supply based on regional energy resources

• Optimization of the regional material flows with a benefit for the social,

economical and ecological sector

• Identification and building of a network that connects relevant actors

of the community

• Rapid realization of first plants, to motivate actors

• Enduring implementation

Implementation



• Decrease current heat and electricity demand by energy-management

and energy saving measures

• Prior application of renewable energy plants based on regional resources

• Intensive information, public relations as well as media relations in the municipality

Results (Project is still ongoing)

• Elaboration of scenarios that quantify that the CO2-neutral renewable energy

supply is possible

• A large number of individual projects in die fields of energy saving, energy

management and renewable energies have been implemented since

the project start in 2001 by private households, companies and the public sector

• Until now more than 19 million Euro have been invested in energy saving

measures and plants for renewable energy generation

• More than 50 % of the annually electricity demand of the whole community

is generated by renewable energy sources today

• The project was so successful, that in 2004 the ZEV-idea was enlarged,

from the municipal up to the hole administrative district Kaiserslautern

(city Kaiserslautern: 110,000 inhabitants)

Partners

• Municipality Weilerbach (Verbandsgemeinde Weilerbach)

• IfaS – Institute for Applied Material Flow Management

• Supported and sponsored by the Ministry for Environment and Forestry,

represented by the Rhineland-Palatinate State Office for Environmental

Education Work (LZU), local actors (citizens, SME, associations etc.)

Based on the idea of saving energy and supplying the remaining demand with renewable

energies, a Master Plan for the whole village of 18.000 people was developed, showing that

there are enough potential to cover all energy demand by local renewable energy sources.

The village already started implementing the Master Plan because more than 60 % of the



needed investment is economically viable thus creating return on investment for potential

stakeholder. This is partly because of the cost lowering effects of Material Flow Management

but also because of the Renewable Energy Law in Germany. Figure 17 shows the theoretical

potentials in saving energy in German villages or cities.

Figure 17: Energy Zero Emission Strategy in pilot village of Weilerbach

Planned Development of the energy consumption caused by the

implementation of the ZEV concept

Total

energysaving

potential: 55 %

45 %energy

demand to becovered byrenewableenergies

100 %

currentsituationwithout

RES

15 %

15% energy

saving byawareness

building and changingbehaviour

30 %

15 %

30% energy

saving bytechnology investment

15 %

30 %

10 %

10% energy

saving bycooperation+ synergy

effects

RES=Renewable Energy Systems

Source: IfaS ZEV Project Report 2005 16

Implementing Sustainable Development in Germany is one of the federal government’s key

tasks. Increasing resource efficiency and climate protection play a crucial role in this context.

2.1.3 Waste management – steps towards a recycling economy

The waste management sector – an economic sector with over 240,000 employees and an

annual turnover of approx. 50 billion euros, which handles almost 400 million tonnes of waste

every year - is also called on to play its part. The key to waste management policy in Ger-

many is product responsibility. Through this the conditions for an effective and environ-

mentally sound waste avoidance and recovery will already be created in the production

16 The ZEV Weilerbach project was awarded the Solar Energy prize 2005 by (EUROSOLAR) solar energy association German

section



stage. Producers and distributors must design their products in such a way as to reduce

waste occurrence and allow environmentally sound recovery and disposal of the residual

substances, both in the production of the goods and in their subsequent use. The 1996

Closed Substance Cycle and Waste Management Act puts this policy into practice. The

product responsibility enshrined in this Act can be implemented through both, regulatory

measures (acts, ordinances, administrative provisions) and through voluntary commitments

by the producers and distributors. This policy has enabled Germany to achieve the highest

recovery quotas worldwide. Already over half of both municipal wastes and production

wastes now undergo recovery. For some waste types recycling quotas are even higher - e.g.

packaging (77%) batteries (72%) graphic paper (ca. 87%). In the case of drinks packaging,

the introduced compulsory deposit has already stabilised the market share of reusables.

Figure 18: Objectives of German waste policies are avoidance, recycling and environ-

mentally sound disposal

Source: Federal Ministry for the Environment,

Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety,

Internet August 2005

Wastes will be further avoided and recovery quotas increased with new legal provisions such

as the End-of-Life Vehicle Act, the Commercial Wastes Ordinance, the Waste Wood Ordi-

nance or the one on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act. The Waste Storage Or-



dinance, which stipulates that from 1 June 2005 no municipal wastes may be landfilled with-

out pre-treatment, and an ordinance on the recycling of wastes on landfills (in preparation)

will strengthen this policy.

The waste management policy in Germany thus plays a role in saving primary raw materials

and reducing emissions from greenhouse gases. In 2005 the emission of climate-affecting

gases from annually discarded household waste will be approx. 30 million tonnes CO2

equivalent less than in 1990. The saving effect regarding fossil fuels more than tripled in a

good ten years (1990-2001) due to increased energy recovery and recycling of wastes.

With the 1994 Closed Substance Cycle and Waste Management Act, other specific product-,

substance- and installation-based legal provisions and voluntary agreements with sectors of

industry, policy-making has restructured waste management in Germany over the past 15

years. From 24 March 2006 consumers can return old radios, computers and other electrical

and electronic equipment to local collection points free of charge. The new Electrical and

Electronic Equipment Act, promulgated in the Federal Law Gazette, provides for this option.

With this Act, Germany is one of the first EU countries to implement the respective EU direc-

tives. As of March 2006 producers are obligated to take back the equipment collected and to

dispose of it in compliance with the technical state of the art.

Starting on 24 November 2005 already, producers have to register before placing electrical

equipment on the market. The producers' Clearing House, which has administrative powers

and is to be set up by the industry, will be the central register. It will be under the supervision

of the Federal Environmental Agency (UBA). Furthermore, it will have to coordinate the sup-

ply of first sets of containers to public waste management authorities and the collection of

equipment from the local collection points by the producers. Moreover, certain heavy metals

such as lead or cadmium as well as brominated flame-retardants may no longer be used for

new equipment as of July 2006. Since June 2006 the landfilling of untreated waste is forbid-

den in Germany. Thus the development of inert landfills will be forced. Till 2020 the govern-

ment aims at phasing out landfills totally by 100% recycling or reuse of all waste. The history

of waste management from 1945 till today is shown in figure 19 below. It can be seen that

modern waste management in Germany started about 30 years ago. Before it was a rather

chaotic situation of dumping waste. Since 2004 more and more policy and technical devel-

opment leads to an integrated management of material flow, which may result in a

100 % reuse of waste.

Figure 19: History and future of Waste Management in Germany



06.April 2004 Local Waste Management in Germany

Matflow Consulting

Prof. Baur & Prof. Dr. HeckHistorical Development*

* based on: Schenkel, W., Zur Geschichte der Abfallwirtschaft in Deutschland, Müll und Abfall 12/03

1. period / „from chaos to order“ 1945 - 1972

2. period / „from waste dumping to recycling- and waste management“

1973 - 1996

3. period / „searching for a new order“ 1997 - 2003

Integrated material flow management?

> 2004


Box 4: Important laws and regulations in the field of waste management

• Act for Promoting Closed Cycle Waste Management and Ensuring Environmentally

Compatible Waste Disposal, Close substance cycle and waste management act

Gesetz zur Förderung der Kreislaufwirtschaft und Sicherung der umweltverträglichen Be-

seitigung von Abfällen (Kreislaufwirtschafts- und Abfallgesetz KrW-/AbfG)

Promulgated of 27 September 1994 (Federal Law Gazette I p. 2705); last amendment on

21 June 2005 (Federal Law Gazette I p. 1666), entered info force 1996 The purpose of this

act is to promote closed cycle waste management, in order to conserve natural resources

and to ensure the environmentally compatible disposal of waste.

• Ordinance on Waste Management Concepts and Waste Balance Sheets

Verordnung über Abfallwirtschaftskonzepte und Abfallbilanzen (Abfallwirtschaftskon-

zept- und -bilanzverordnung AbfKoBiV)

of 13 September 1996 (Federal Law Gazette I p. 1447), last amendment on 24 June 2002

(Federal Law Gazette I p. 2247)

Ordinance on Waste Oil



Waste Oil Ordinance (Altölverordnung AltölV) of 27 October 1987 (Federal Law Gazette

I p. 2335), last amendment on 16 April 2002 (Federal Law Gazette I p. 1368)

• Act on the Disposal of End-of-life-Vehicles, End-of-life-Vehicle Act

Gesetz über die Entsorgung von Altfahrzeugen (Altfahrzeug-Gesetz AltfahrzeugG) of 21

June 2002 (Federal Law Gazette I p. 2199)

• Ordinance on the Transfer, Collection and Environmentally Sound Disposal of End-

of-life-Vehicles, End-of-life-Vehicles Ordinance

Verordnung über die Überlassung, Rücknahem und umweltverträgliche Entsorgung von

Altfahrzeugen (Altfahrzeug-Verordnung AltfahrzeugV) of 4 July 1997 (Federal Law Ga-

zette I p. 1666), last amendment on 25 November 2003 (Federal Law Gazette I 2304)

• Ordinance on the Management of Waste Wood

Waste Wood Ordinance Verordnung über die Anforderungen an die Verwertung und Be-

seitigung von Altholz (Altholzverordnung AltholzV) of 15 August 2002 (Federal Law

Gazette I p. 3302)

• Ordinance on the Return and Disposal of Used Batteries and Accumulators, Battery

Ordinance

Verordnung über die Rücknahme und Entsorgung gebrauchter Batterien und Akkumula-

toren (Batterieverordnung BattV) of 27 March 1997 (Federal Law Gazette I p. 658), last

amendment on 9 September 2001 (Federal Law Gazette I p. 2331)

• Ordinance on the Utilisation of Biowastes on Land used for Agricultural, Silvicul-

tural and Horticultural Purposes, Ordinance on Biowastes

Verordnung über die Verwertung von Bioabfällen auf landwirtschaftlich,

forstwirtschaftlich und gärtnerich genutzten Böden (Bioabfallverordnung BioAbfV) of 21

September 1998 (Federal Law Gazette I p. 2955), last amendment on 26 November 2003

(Federal Law Gazette I p. 2373)

• Ordinance on Landfills and Long-Term Storage Facilities and Amending the Ordi-

nance on Environmentally Compatible Storage of Waste from Human Settlements

and Biological Waste-Treatment Facilities, Landfill Ordinance

Verordnung über Deponien und Langzeitlager (Deponieverordnung DepV) of 24 July

2002 (Federal Law Gazette I p. 2807), last amendment on 12 August 2004 (Federal Law

Gazette I p. 2190)



• Ordinance on Environmentally Compatible Storage of Waste from Human Settle-

ments

Verordnung über die umweltverträgliche Ablagerung von Siedlungsabfällen

(Abfallablagerungsverordnung AbfAblV) of 20 February 2001 (Federal Law Gazette I p.

305), last amendment on 24 July 2002 (Federal Law Gazette I p. 2807)

• Technical Instructions on the Recovery, Treatment and Other Management of

Wastes from Human Settlements, Technical Instruction on Waste from Human Set-

tlements

Technische Anleitung zur Verwertung, Behandlung und sonstigen Entsorgung von Sied-

lungsabfällen

(TA Siedlungsabfall) of 14 May 1993 (Federal Gazette No 99a on 29 May 1993), com-

mencement of the technical instruction on 1 June 2005

• Act Governing the Sale, Return and Environmentally Sound Disposal of Electrical

and Electronic Equipment, Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act

Gesetz über das Inverkehrbringen, die Rücknahme und die umweltverträgliche Ent-

sorgung von Elektro- und Elektronikgeräten (ElektroG) of 24 March 2005 (Federal Law

Gazette I p. 762) The Act used to implement the Directive 2002/96/EC concerning electric

appliance and the Directive 2002/95/EC concerning reducing the use of specified materi-

als for electrical equipment. The purpose of the Act is the prevention of waste of electrical

equipment, the reduction of the quantity of waste by recovering, by giving a handicap of

gathering, utilisation and recycling quotes and the decrease of harmful substances in the

equipment.

• Ordinance on the Management of Municipal Wastes of Commercial Origin and Cer-

tain Construction and Demolition Wastes, Commercial Wastes Ordinance

Verordnung über die Entsorgung von gewerblichen Siedlungsabfällen und von bes-

timmten Bau- und Abbruchabfällen (Gewerbeabfallverordnung GewAbfV)

of 19 June 2002 (Federal Law Gazette I p. 1938), last amendment on 25 July 2005 (Fed-

eral Law Gazette I p. 2252)

• Ordinance on the Avoidance and Recovery of Packaging Wastes, Packaging Ordi-

nance

Verordnung über die Vermeidung und Verwertung von Verpackungsabfällen (Ver-



packungsverordnung VerpackV) of 21 August 1998 (Federal Law Gazette I p. 2379), last

amendment on 24 May 2005 (Federal Law Gazette I p. 1407)

• Ordinance on Underground Waste Stowage, Stowage Ordinance

Verordnung über den Versatz von Abfällen unter Tage

(Versatzverordnung VersatzV) of 24 July 2002 (Federal Law Gazette I p. 2833), last

amendment on 12 August 2004 (Federal Law Gazette I p. 2190)

• Act on the Prevention of Harmful Effects on the Environment Caused by Air Pollu-

tion, Noise, Vibration, an Similar Phenomena, Federal Immission Control Act

Gesetz zum Schutz vor schädlichen Umwelteinwirkungen durch Luftverunreinigungen,

Geräusche, Erschütterungen und ähnliche Vorgänge

(Bundesimmissionsschutzgesetz BimSchG) It is the purpose of this Act to protect human

beings, animals and plants, soil, water, the atmosphere as well as cultural assets and other

material goods from harmful effects on the environment and to take precautions against

the emergence of any such harmful effects on the environment.

Box 5: Technical Instructions on the Recovery, Treatment and Other Management of

Wastes from Human Settlements Technical Instruction on Waste from Human Settle-

ments (TA Siedlungsabfall TASi) of 14 May 1993 (Federal Gazette No 99a on 29 May

1993)

The transitional period for organic waste deposit ended in June 2005 (Became effective –

1 June 2005)

Main objective

• Recycling of not avoided waste as far as possible

• Holding harmful substances of the waste as low as possible

• Ensuring an ecological handling and disposal of non-recyclable waste

Scope of application

• Contain the requirements relating to the recovery, treatment and other management of

wastes from human settlements in accordance with the state of the art

• Shall apply accordingly to production wastes as well as wastes in particular need of moni-

toring which can be managed together with wastes from human settlements or managed in

the same way as them



• Shall provide the enforcing authorities with a basis for examination and decision-making

General regulations

• Defines the term state of art

• Defines terms and units of measure

• Defines the methods of sampling, measurement and analyses

• Defines the procedure of exemptions

Licensing of waste management facilities

• The pertinent regulations set out in this technical instructions must be observed when li-

censing waste management facilities or when licensing the premature commencement of

operation

Allocation of the method of waste management

• Defines the allocation criteria for recovery concerning technical feasibility, reasonableness,

existence and creation of a market and ecological effects

• Defines the allocation criteria for landfilling concerning different classes of landfills for

different wastes

Requirements

• Defines requirements in substance recycling and pollutant extraction

• Defines requirements on the organisation and personnel of waste management facilities

as well as information and documentation

• Defines the general requirements on interim stores, treatment facilities and landfills

• Gives particular requirements on interim stores

• Gives particular requirements on treatment facilities

• Gives particular requirements on landfills

• Defines requirements on existing sites

2.2 Japan



Japan has at least nominally a perfect system for Circular Economy, which covers each field

of production and life. There are eight laws in the system among which the law on formation

and promotion of Circular Economy enacted in 2000 is the most typical. This law makes Ja-

pan at least verbally stand out in Circular Economy.17 In addition there are strong NGO activi-

ties for creating a sustainable Japan. Figures 20 and 21 explain the framework of a sustain-

able Japan project from Japan for Sustainability NGO. The project description gives a clear

view of the overall meaning of sustainability. What is missing is the relationship to the Circu-

lar Economy activities of the government.

2.2.1 Sustainable Development in Japan

Figure 20: Japan for Sustainability – Project Overview

Source: Japan for Sustainability 2006

17 See Lu, Hu, Wang, 2005, p.18



Figure 21: Overall framework of JFS vision for Sustainable Japan


Table 3: Indicators for sustainable society

Capacity

and Re-

source

Fairness

across

Time

Fairness

across

Space

Diversity

Human Will

and Net-

working

Nature

resource

cycling,

water/

soil/ air

climate

change

climate

change biodiversity

environmental

education

Economy

energy,

resource

produc-

tivity,

food

finance

food,

international

cooperation

energy international

cooperation

Society security tradition/

culture mobility

gender and

minority,

tradition

money flow



and culture

Well-

being health

wealth

gap wealth gap

participation

in commu-

nity

life satisfac-

tion,

academic

performance

and education

level,

health, par-

ticipation in

community


JFS has chosen 20 headline indicators for sustainability (see table 3) and made the first nu-

merical evaluation of national sustainability for Japan. Results show a score of 33.5 for 2005

in relation to a hypothetical perfect score of 100 projected for 2050, down about 19% from

41.3 points for 1990. The overall analysis of the estimation shows that sustainability in Japan

has rather declined than improved, though some of indicators have shown improvement (see

figure 22). The condition of four main aspects of sustainability namely nature, economy, so-

ciety and well being is as follows18:

Nature : There are many challenges concerning nature, as efforts by various sectors in re-

cent years concerning climate change, resource cycling and wastes have not led to better

numerical values. However, the overall point has improved slightly since 1990, reflecting in-

crease in green consumerism, society-wide increase in environmental awareness and overall

improvement in condition of water, soil and air. Though the sustainability has not improved in

terms of environmental impact, we made positive evaluation considering the steadfast im-

provement in environmental literacy, and hoping for further improvement. Among headline

indicators, climate change is the most urgent issue at present.

Economy: The overall score deteriorated since 1990, reflecting massive debt accumulation,

which is a major issue bearing on fairness to coming generations. In light of a sustainable

and self-supporting economy, extremely low self-sufficiency in food and energy remains ma-

jor problem indigenous to Japan and further improvement in resource-productivity is needed.

Though Japan’s economy is big in scale, the overall score is the lowest of all four categories

in terms of sustainability. Future issues for our rapidly graying society include how to build

18 Data and text from Japan for Sustainability NGO



new value systems and how to achieve a paradigm shift from a growth-geared economy to a

sustainable one.

Society: Participation in society by women improved since 1990, though remaining low rela-

tive to international standard, which is favorable trend in view of diversification. The advent of

investment style such as SRI, socially responsible investment, is another encouraging sign of

social change, though the scale is still small compared to those of Western countries. How-

ever, as for culture and tradition, traditional industries that have figured prominently in creat-

ing Japanese cultural values are close to annihilation, so overall score deteriorated since

1990.

Well-being: The score for individual well-being is relatively high, as a certain level of quality

of life is attained in Japan. However, suicide rates at historic high are extremely high com-

pared to other OECD countries. Growing wealth gap represented by individual livelihood se-

curity is another sign of deteriorating sustainability, so overall score for individual well-being

also deteriorates since 1990. Developing a model society, where individuals can participate

and enjoy life without significant disparity irrespective of age or sex, is an issue in the future.

Figure 22: Development of Sustainability in Japan 1990 - 2005


2.2.2 Energy in Japan

Japan is among the biggest energy users worldwide. More than 90% of Japans energy hun-

ger is fuelled by imports of fossil energy sources namely oil and gas. Figure 23 shows the



composition of energy primary energy supply in Japan. Remarkable is the percentage of hy-

dro and renewable energy sources.

Figure 23: Composition of primary energy supply in Japan


Japans total energy demand increased from 285 million kiloliters (oil equivalent) in 1973 to

349 million in 1990 and 405 million in 2000. The increase is mainly attributed to people´s de-

sire for convenience and affluent lifestyles. In terms of energy consumption per unit of eco-

nomic activity, Japan is among the most energy efficient countries in the world. The compari-

son shown in the table below, places Japan at the top of an energy efficiency list followed by

Germany and France. The USA and Canada trailing far behind.



Table 4: Energy efficiency in selected developed countries

Country Japan Germany France UK Sweden USA Canada

Efficiency

indicator*

96 130 150 183 191 264 365

*oil equivalent in million metric tons divided by gross domestic product in trillion dollars (at 1995 prices

after foreign exchange adjustment).


Figure 24: Energy consumption per GDP production


Through the energy efficiency efforts of the public and the government, Japan has achieved

the highest level of energy efficiency anywhere in the world since the oil crises (see figure 24

and table 4). However, the weakness of Japans energy supply structure remains unchanged,

and the level of dependency on Middle East crude oil is higher than at the time of the oil

crises. With an increasing tendency of energy consumption in commercial/residential and

transportation sectors in recent years, the promotion of steady energy efficiency measures in

the future is essential. In 1998, aiming to achieve Japan's targets that were set at the Kyoto

Conference on Climate Change (COP3), the current energy measures for energy efficiency



to the amount of 56 million kl (crude oil equivalent) were formulated. In addition, in the total

review of energy policy, which was conducted by the Advisory Committee for Natural

Resources and Energy from 2000, the current energy efficiency measures of the Energy

Efficiency and Conservation subcommittee were reevaluated (approx 50 million kl (crude oil

equivalent)), and additional measures for the rapidly increasing energy demand of the

residential / commercial and transportation sectors were created (7million kl (crude oil

equivalent)), and a report for the future structure of energy efficiency policy was put together

at the end of June 2001 (see figure 26).

In order to steadily execute the measures outlined in that subcommittee report, in addition to

an expansion of implementation support measures (planned budget amount for FY2002 is

131.2 billion yen (an increase of 20% on the previous Fiscal Year)), the Law amendment bill

(Law Concerning the Rational Use of Energy), has now been submitted before the regular

session of the Diet. Its contents introduce a mechanism of energy management to be applied

to large-scale factories and office buildings and its purpose is the strengthening of measures

addressing the rapid increase in energy demand from areas such as the commercial sector.

Table 5: Goals for development of renewable energies in Japan

Source: Agency for Natural Resources and Energy,

METI



For the year 2010 3% of primary energy demand is supposed to come from renewable en-

ergy sources (see table 5). Compared to Germany this goal does not seem to be very ambi-

tious. Aside from the support of renewable energy sources energy efficiency measures like

conservation labelling systems were introduced. Figure 25 shows how the labelling works.

Figure 25: Energy conservation labelling system




Figure 26: Energy measures in Japan


Table 6: Status Quo and future development of renewable energies in Japan



Type of new En-

ergy condition of introduction

Photovoltaic

power generation

Application has increased by 3.5 times during the last 3 years. Generating cost is

still high, even though the price of the system has come down over the last six

years to one fourth of what it had been.

Wind power gen-

eration

Application increased by about 7 times during the last 3 years, and its commercial

viability has been recognized depending on local conditions. Future issues are

economic efficiency and stability.

Waste power

generation

Local communities are mainly promoting the installation of facilities. A future is-

sue is the problem of location, etc.

Biomass power

generation

Wooden chips, bagasse (sugar cane husks) and sludge are used mainly. In re-

cent years, there have been trials using methane gas from the food waste, but

still economic viability is still an issue.

Solar thermal

utilization Level of application has decreased in recent years. The main issue is economy.

Thermal utiliza-

tion of waste

Temperature dif-

ference energy

While there are some cases where it is introduced as a heat supply project, the

number of applications is in low.

Thermal utiliza-

tion of biomass

Black liquor waste accounts for a substantial amount of the new Energy in this

area, such as biomass heat utilization.

Clean energy mo-

tor vehicles

Hybrid automobiles and natural gas automobiles are steadily increasing, and the

level of application amounted about 4-fold during the last 3 years. Future issues

are economic efficiency, performance and infrastructure availability.

Natural gas co-

generation

The application increased by about 1.4 times during the last 3 years. High effi-

ciency facilities are still expensive.

Fuel cell Phosphoric acid type has decreased. Competition to develop solid high polymer



types is already noticeable in domestic and overseas companies to develop cells

for practical use and dissemination. Large-scale application is anticipated in fu-

ture.

Source: Agency for Natural Resources and Energy,

METI

2.2.3 Establishing a sound Material-Cycle Society

2.2.3.1 Fundamental Law for Establishing a Sound Material-Cycle Society19

Having experienced severe industrial pollution and serious conflict between sustainability

and waste problems, Japan now seeks to establish a sound material-cycle society where

economics and environment are compatible. For that purpose, the Fundamental Law for Es-

tablishing a Sound Material-Cycle Society (Material-Cycle Fundamental Law) was laid down

in 2000. Based on this law, the Fundamental Plan for Establishing a Sound Material-Cycle

Society (Material-Cycle Fundamental Plan) was set up in March 2003, and this plan deter-

mines quantitative numerical targets to be achieved by 2010. According to the plan, stake-

holders will cooperate to pursue various tangible efforts in the following areas:

1. Waste Prevention

2. Utilization of Recycling Resources

3. Promotion of Recycled Goods

4. Ex-ante Evaluation of Industrial Products

5. Environment Preservation along Recycling and Disposing

6. Financial Assistance for Waste Prevention

7. Enforcement and Enhancement of Related Research

19 Text by Prof Dr Sakai



2.2.3.2 Definition of a Sound Material-Cycle Society

Article 2 of the Material-Cycle Fundamental Law defines “a Sound Material-Cycle Society” as

“a society where the consumption of natural resources is minimized and the environmental

load is reduced as much as possible, by restraining products from becoming wastes promot-

ing appropriate recycling of products when they have become recyclable resources, and se-

curing appropriate disposal of the recyclable resources not recycled.

2.2.3.3 Three Indexes of Material Flow Proposed in the Material-Cycle Funda-

mental Plan

While the Material-Cycle Fundamental Law covers priority areas regarding waste, such as

prevention, reuse, recycling, heat recovery, and appropriate disposal, the Material-Cycle

Fundamental Plan sets tangible target indices for an enforcement of the law. That is, numeri-

cal targets are set for “Resource Productivity”, “Cyclical Use Rate” and “Final Disposal

Amount”, which represent three aspects of the material flows in a society, i.e., inlet, cycle,

and outlet, respectively (Fig. 27). Defined as the ratio of GDP to input of natural resources

and the like, “Resource Productivity” is targeted to increase from 280 thousand yen per ton in

2000 to 390 thousand yen per ton in 2010. This is the index to comprehensively represent

how effectively materials are used by industries and in people’s lives. Since recycling and

waste generation are inseparably linked to economic activity, the proposal of an index such

as “Resource Productivity,” which combines an index of input volume and an index of eco-

nomic activity, is quite a significant step. The “Cyclical Use Rate” index is defined as the ratio

of the amount of cyclical use to the sum of the amount of cyclical use and the input of natural

resources and the like, and it is aimed to increase this index to 14% in 2010 from 10% in

2000. The target for “Final Disposal Amount” is to reduce landfill waste from 56 million tons

per year to 28 million tons per year over the same period. The achievement of the numerical

targets is planned to be verified in the future.



Fig. 27: Three Indicators in the Fundamental Material Cycle Plan

Source: Sakai, 2005

2.2.3.4 Significance and Future of the Index of “Resource Productivity”

The emergence of the “Resource Productivity” index signifies the trend of the discussion

about how to establish a sound material-cycle society; that is, triggered by the waste prob-

lem, a quest to establish a sound material-cycle society has led to a quest for the efficient

use of resources and is associated with economic indicators. The establishment of those in-

dices owes a great deal to the long-term international studies of Moriguchi et al., who have

introduced such indicators as Direct Material Input (DMI) and Direct Processed Output (DPO)

as indexes of material flow and who have conducted a series of comparative studies interna-

tionally to examine the relationship between those indicators and GDP.

International collaborative studies on macro flow indices such as “Resource Productivity”

and studies on material flow in the Asian region should be pursued. In addition, the Material-

Cycle Fundamental Plan set targets for efforts to establish a sound material-cycle society, for

instance, 50 percent of all companies listed in the first and second sections of the Japanese

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stock exchanges will implement organization-wide green purchasing. The achievement of

those targets also should be followed up.

Japans socio-economic activities expanded in the 20th century, contributing to greater arterial

prosperity for humankind. However this led to increases in the volume of waste generated,

difficulties in waste treatment due to diversification of types of waste and environmental

pollution caused by inappropriate waste management. These problems stem from mass

production, mass consumption, and mass disposal patterns rooted in the current socio-

economic system. In order to solve these problems, it is necessary to establish a sound

material –cycle society, in which consumption of natural resources is reduced and

environmental impacts are minimized.20

The vision of a sound material cycle society entails:

I) Use of products within the geographical area where they are produced, or establishment of

what might be called a “slow” lifestyle through the use of good products with the care for a

long period of time;

II) Regarding manufacturing: dissemination of environmental services such as designing

products for easy recycling, designing products which can be refilled, or implementing

lease/rental systems;

III) Promotion of development of infrastructure for waste disposal, recycling facilities or ac-

cumulation of relevant information and the enhancement of human resources.

2.2.4 Today situation of waste management in Japan

Domestic waste (chiefly household) generated in Japan in fiscal 1999 totalled 51.4 million

tons, an average of 1,114 grams (approximately 2.46 pounds) per person every day. There is

a growing shortage of landfill sites because the amount of waste generated is increasing

(see Figure 28). Estimates show that landfill sites in Japan will last only another 12.3 years

(from fiscal year 1999) with current domestic waste generation patterns.



Figure 28

Hazardous wastes: Japan signed and ratified The Basel Convention on the Control of Trans-

boundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal in 1993. The latest informa-

tion was provided to the Basel Convention Secretariat in 1994. Japan strictly enforces the

Basel Convention by means of proper implementation of the relevant domestic laws and

regulations including, in particular, the Law on the Control of Export, Import and Management

of Specified Hazardous Wastes and Other Wastes which has specifically been

enacted for the purpose of implementing the Basel Convention. A penalty regime has been

established against illegal transactions of wastes. The Waste Disposal and Public Cleansing

Law, which is Japan's general law for the management of waste, was broadly amended in

20 Office of sound material cycle, March 2003



October 1991 as the basis for ensuring proper disposal and reduction of waste, as well as

the construction of disposal facilities. In July 1992, these amendments were put into effect. In

May 1992, Japan established the Law Regarding the Promotion of the Construction of Speci-

fied Facilities for the Disposal of Industrial Waste to give due consideration to the importance

of maintaining waste disposal facilities for environmentally sound management of hazardous

wastes. To promote the spread of waste disposal facilities, Japan is adopting measures con-

cerning taxation and finances. Japan promotes the prevention and minimization of hazardous

waste by continuing to provide technological and financial assistance to

prefectural governments which enforce the Waste Disposal and Public Cleansing Law, and

by strengthening institutional capacities in hazardous waste management. Local authorities

represented by prefectural governors and mayors of cities, towns and villages have been

given the power to instruct businesses, which generate a large amount of wastes, to draw up

plans for waste reduction. In accordance with the October 1991 amendments of the Waste

Disposal and Public Cleansing Law, each of the individual prefectures has the power to des-

ignate Waste Treatment Public Center for disposing of specially controlled wastes.

Solid wastes: In 1991 a Council for the Promotion of Recycling was established to bring to-

gether industrial and consumer organizations in this field. The disposal of waste is conducted

in accordance with the Waste Disposal and Public Cleansing Law. In September 1992, in or-

der to promote the reduction of waste, a National Conference for the Promotion of the Re-

duction in the Amount of Garbage was established. Another relevant data is the October of

1991; The Law for Promotion of Utilization of Recyclable Resources, the Law on Temporary

Measures to Promote Business Activities for the Rational Use of Energy and the Utilization of

Recycling Resources, and the amended 1991 Waste Management Law came into force. The

1990 Guidelines that were developed from the report of the Subcommittee for Industrial

Structure on measures to address waste disposal and recycling of resources are applied and

reviewed on an annual basis. In 1995, “The Law for the Promotion of Sorted Collection, and

Recycling of Containers and Packaging” was established to encourage the establishment of

new recycling and packaging systems under the each responsibility of consumers, local gov-

ernments and producers. With the wide-ranging amendments of the Waste Disposal and

Public Cleansing Law in 1992, the basic policy is to promote the planned disposal of wastes,

and Japan is enforcing measures to reduce wastes, including the promotion of appropriate

packaging for goods, packaging reuse, composting and the segregation and separate collec-

tion of recyclable waste. In order to construct a socio-economic system with reduced envi-

ronmental load, Japan is reducing waste amounts by promoting the recycling of resources as

well as limiting the generation of wastes.



According to a waste collection plan, in 1993, the percentage of the total population, which

receives collection service for general waste, had reached 100%. However, when looking at

the conditions of disposal, the amount accounted for by direct reclamation was equal to

14.4% of the total amount of waste generated. The amount of household disposal by house-

hold was equal to 2.0% of the total. At present, the population ratio of domestic wastewater

treatment is 51.6%. Improvement of sewerage is slow in small and medium-sized municipali-

ties. In accordance with the Five-Year Plan for the 8th Stage of Waste Treatment Facilities

Improvement, started in 1990, local authorities have decided to reduce the disposal amount

of garbage to 91% of the present amount, by means of incineration, segregation, and com-

posting. In 2000, Food Recycle Law was established to restrain generation of food wastes,

reduce the amount of food wastes, and recycle them as animal feed or manure.

Radioactive wastes: Legislation concerning the safe management of radioactive wastes in-

cludes the Law for the Regulation of Nuclear Source Material, Nuclear Fuel Material and Re-

actors, and the Law concerning Prevention from Radiation Hazards due to Radio -Isotopes,

etc. Regarding measures for the treatment and disposal of radioactive wastes, Japan abides

by such international arrangements as Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution

from Dumping of Wastes and other Matter. Japan will continue to cooperate with the Interna-

tional Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Japan considers that, in addition to promoting the re-

duction of radioactive wastes, it is necessary to take measures for their appropriate treatment

and disposal. In this regard, and based on the Long-Term Program for Research Develop-

ment and Utilization of Nuclear Energy, Japan promotes various measures including those

for ensuring financial resources, promoting research and development, and strengthening in-

ternational cooperation. Japan is also in favour of an early completion of the Convention on

the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management (tentative name).

Authorities, citizens and corporations: Japan promotes public awareness of appropriate

waste disposal, environmental education and assists voluntary activities among the private

sector, through the national government and local authorities, to encourage companies to

develop waste reduction and reuse policies. In 1991, with a view to enhancing public aware-

ness, ministries and government agencies declared October of each year as the month for

the promotion of recycling. In addition to promoting the improvement of sewerage, Japan

will also promote the improvement of community plants and Gappei-shori johkasou (domestic

waste water treatment system) in towns and villages.

Solid wastes: As an incentive to recycle, Japan has adopted measures for special tax re-

demptions in regards to facilities for recycling waste, as well as financial measures for low-

interest financing through governmental financial agencies.



Air Pollution Control Law and Water Pollution Control Law control the discharge of chemicals

into the environment. In May 1996, Japan amended the Air Pollution Control Law for the pur-

pose of preventing human health damage caused by long-term exposure to hazardous air

pollutants. The Agricultural Chemicals Regulation Law prohibits the sale of unregistered agri-

cultural chemicals. Standards have also been developed for the registration of agricultural

chemicals with respect to their residue in crops and water pollution. Toxic chemicals are con-

trolled in Japan in accordance with such laws as the Law concerning the Examination and

Regulation of Manufacture, etc. of Chemical Substances (Chemical Substances Control

Law), the Poisonous and Deleterious Substances Control Law and Industrial Safety and

Health Law. Under these Laws, Japan conducts evaluation of safety-related properties, in-

cluding the potential for biodegradability, bioaccumulation, and the toxicity of chemicals.

Based on its findings, Japan establishes regulations and basic management procedures for

manufacture, import and use of such chemicals. Also Japan supports worldwide harmoniza-

tion in the classification and labelling of dangerous and toxic chemicals. Local authorities and

business groups are involved in the decision-making and implementation of activities in this

area. Japanese industries started voluntary emission control measures of some hazardous

air pollutants with a pledge and review system. The Law Concerning Reporting, etc. of Re-

leases to the Environment of Specific Chemical

Substances and Promoting Improvements in Their Management (PRTR Law) has been

promulgated in July 1999. Under the Law, the MSDS and PRTR started in 2001.

Programmes and Projects: Japan Chemical Industries Association has implemented the

pollutants release survey through “responsible Care” since 1992. Japan has carried out the

PRTR Pilot Project in local areas since 1997. The Comprehensive Chemical Assessment

and management Programme has started in 2001 to develop risk assessment methods and

assess the risks of the chemicals of High Production Volume.

Status: Government of Japan has worked for promoting business's self-management activi-

ties to control the use of industrial chemicals. For example, the Ministry of Economy, Trade

and Industry and Ministry of the Environment has cooperatively requested industries to make

voluntary control plan to reduce emission of thirteen air pollutants in 1996. As the result of

implementing the first -stage voluntary control self-management plan from FY1997-1999,

seventy-seven industries associations reported that they reduced air pollutant emission

by about 40%. The industries have started the second-stage voluntary control plan from

FY2001.



Capacity-Building, Education, Training and Awareness-Raising: The Government has

published and distributed the manual for businesses to estimate the quantities of designated

chemical substances released to the environment under the PRTR Law. The Government

has been also developing a guidance document of risk communication for businesses and a

guidebook for citizens to understand the PRTR. Efforts have been made for the public to bet-

ter improve this understanding on chemical safety and management, including the PRTR

Law.

Information: Japan conducts systematic environmental surveys and monitoring to measure

the state of chemical residue in the environment, and acts accordingly. The Government col-

lects and publishes the data on water quality, air quality and the discharge of chemicals from

facilities into water. The Government has established database for information of chemical

substances and makes it available to the public.

Several activities about endocrine disrupting chemicals such as development of screening

test methods and risk assessment have been promoted in collaboration with relevant minis-

tries. The Ministry of the Environment has announced the “Strategic Programs on Environ-

ment Endocrine Disrupters'98” (SPEED'98) (Established in 1998 and revised in the year

2000).

Financing: The Government provides funds for R & D and the other necessary expenditures

to implement the above-mentioned topics and also secures funds to manage related national

research institutions by its budget.

Cooperation: Japan participates in related programmes of the OECD, in the International

Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS) of UNEP, ILO, WHO and FAO, and in the Interna-

tional Register of Potentially Toxic Chemicals (IRPTC). It supports the London Guidelines for

the Exchange of Information on Chemicals in International Trade as well as the extension of

the Guidelines to require the prior informed consent (PIC) procedure. In conformity with the

London Guidelines, Japan has amended the Export Trade Control Order to establish a sys-

tem for management of exports of toxic chemicals, which are prohibited or strictly restricted

in Japan or internationally. As a part of OECD activities, Japan has been participating in the

co-operative investigation of high production volume (HPV) chemicals programme since

1991. The Government provides technical cooperation to establish testing organizations on

chemical safety in Least Developed Countries (LDCs) by the Official Development Assis-

tance (ODA).

2.2.5 Changing consumption pattern



The responsible government bodies dealing with aspects of sustainable consumption and

production patterns are the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of Health, Labour

and Welfare and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. At the local level, it is the

Division in charge of this issue in prefectural and municipal governments. Laws regarding

changing consumption include the following: The Law for the Promotion of Utilization of Re-

cyclable Resource: Based on the Law for the Promotion of Utilization of Recyclable Re-

sources which came into effect in October 1991; The Law for the Promotion of Sorted Collec-

tion and the Recycling of Containers and Packaging: In order to establish a system to pro-

mote the sorted collection of these items by municipal governments as well as their re-

commercialization by industry, the Law for the Promotion of Sorted Collection and the Recy-

cling of Containers and Packaging was enacted in June 1995 and came into force in April

1997; Waste Management and Public Cleansing Law: The Waste Management and

Public Cleansing Law was enacted in 1970 for the purpose of preserving the living environ-

ment and public health through reducing the waste generation, ensuring appropriate waste

management (e.g., sorting, storage, collection, transport, recycling, disposal) and conserva-

tion of a clean living environment; Specific Household Appliance Recycling Act: Enacted in

June 1998 for the purpose of ensuring appropriate waste management and

efficient material usage through obliging the retailers to collect and transport the specific

household appliance (e.g., TV sets, refrigerators, air conditioner, electric washers) and the

manufactures (including importers) to recycling them. The Act will be enforced by June 2001;

Law concerning Special Measure for Promotion of Utilization of New Energy: Enacted to ac-

celerate the introduction of new energy for achieving the FY 2010 targets; There are, in addi-

tion, standards and regulations that apply. These include: The Waste Management and

Resource Recovery Section of the Council for Industrial Structure established guidelines by

item (23 items at present) and industry (11 industries at present) in 1990, and has stimulated

the industry sector to voluntarily engage in waste management and resource recovery.

The Basic Environment Plan developed under the provisions of the Basic Environment Law

stipulates reducing amount of wastes generated and promoting recycling. It also identifies

the roles of producers, retailers, consumers, and national and local governments. Various

councils of the Government and the local authorities have discussed issues relating to sus-

tainable consumption and production patterns. These councils consist of the representatives

of various groups of the society such as the academy, industries, etc. so as to opinions of

various groups of the society are reflected to the policies.



Programmes and Projects: Environmental Activities Evaluation Programme is a pro-

gramme that the Ministry of the Environment has been promoting since 1996 in an effort to

help various businesses, especially small- and medium-sized enterprises to conduct such

environmental activities as self-check of the environmental impacts and preparation of action

plans, are provided in this programme. Eco-Mark Programme is designed to enhance con-

sumers to choose environmentally sound products through provision of product

information on environmental aspect. A product allowed to bear the Eco-Mark shall satisfy

the qualification that the burden on environment passed through each stage of manufactur-

ing, using and disposing of this particular product is less compared to the other similar prod-

ucts. Working groups composed of experts, establish criteria for qualification.

Status: The Basic Environment Plan decided in 1994 by the Cabinet stipulates that a target

for waste management and recycling should be developed promptly. For this purpose, a

study on this subject has been conducted. By the Law for Promotion of Utilization of Recy-

clable Resources, designated industries are required to recycle more wastes and by-

products in the manufacturing processes. Targets set for recycle of waste paper and cullet

are fifty-six percent by 2000 and sixty-five percent by 2001 respectively. The targets of sew-

erage construction, for example, are the increases in the percent of population served with

sewer system up to sixty six percent and in the number of population served with advanced

wastewater treatment up to fifteen million by the end of FY2002. The Law Concerning the

Promotion of Procurement of Eco-friendly Goods and Services by the State and Other Enti-

ties (Law on Promoting Green Purchasing) fully came into force from FY2001. The Govern-

ment is to implement green purchasing based on the law to encourage other sectors to follow

them, and finally to change their consumption pattern. In most cases, the cost of

environmentally sound technologies is higher than existing technologies. Financial measures

including subsidy, or reduction of interest of the loan for plant investment, are very effective

means of diffusing such technologies. Exhibitions of clean and environmentally sound

technologies give good opportunities to spread such technologies.

Capacity Building, Education, Training and Awareness-Raising: The Government, rec-

ognizing that it is itself a big consumer, enacted Law on Promoting Green Purchasing to

achieve sustainable consumption and production patterns. In order to comprehensively and

systematically promote the green purchasing by the government, the government determined

the basic policy including the list of the kinds of eco-friendly goods, etc. with their evaluation

criteria for which the government should put an emphasis on procuring. The Eco-Mark Pro-

gramme is operated to inform consumers of environmentally friendly goods. The following

are examples of measures taken by the government to encourage industries to adopt pro-



duction patterns that affect the environment less: Environmental Activities Evaluation Pro-

gramme: The Programme has been promoted since 1996 in an effort to help various busi-

nesses, especially small- and medium-sized enterprises, understand and implement envi-

ronmental activities; and, To disseminate the design and construction method on thermally

insulated buildings, public service corporations give short courses for carpenters: As a follow-

up action, the organization has been making efforts to help its members to follow the action

plan and take environment awareness into consideration when they act. The Government

encourages consumers to implement sustainable consumption patterns by offering a

“household eco-account book”. The Government has been undertaking an awareness-raising

campaign in cooperation with local governments and other sectors, to promote sustainable

consumption, for example, through newspapers, magazines, TV programmes, and other

various media. In 1998, the Recommended List of Specifications and Quality of Goods was

developed to encourage the implementation of the Action Plan for Greening Government

Operations.

Information: The basic policy based on the Law on Promoting Green Purchasing could be

used as a reference for decision makers and industry managers in procuring products. A

study of comprehensive environmental indicators, including ones related to consumption and

production patterns is in progress. Research and Technologies: The Government has been

promoting research and development on life-cycle assessment to find method to evaluate the

environmental impacts of a product throughout its product life, i.e. extraction of raw materials,

manufacture, and consumption and disposal of it. Reduction of wastes generation and the

promotion of recycling is the most prioritized area to exert efforts. Improvement of energy ef-

ficiency is also an important area.

Financing: The FY 1998 budget for the introduction of New Energy is 74.8 billion yen; in

FY1999, the approximately budget request will increase to 87.5 billion yen. Budget for Intro-

duction of New Energy Most of the subsidies are financed by the national budgets. Remitted

taxation is also used as effective means to supply economical merits.

Cooperation: The Government and local authorities support developing countries by intro-

ducing less environment-affecting techniques in production. For example: Japan is promoting

the “Japan-China Environment Cooperation for the 21st Century", which includes measures

aiming at the building of circulatory industrial and social systems in China.

Decision-Making: The following ministries/agencies are generally responsible for making

decisions: Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industries (METI), concerning energy issues

in general; the Ministry of the Environment (MOE), concerning protection of atmosphere;

and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MLIT), concerning energy-related



aspects of transportation. As for the climate change issues, Global Warming Prevention

Headquarters consisting of ministries and agencies concerned with global warming problems

has served the policy coordination mechanism among them since 1997. The principal laws

are: Law Concerning the Promotion of the Measure to Cope with Global Warming, Law con-

cerning the Rational Use of Energy and Air Pollution Control Law. Regulations that promote

sustainable energy are included in the Law concerning Special Measure for Promotion of

Utilization of New Energy. The law was enacted to accelerate the introduction of new energy

for achieving the FY 2010 targets and prescribes for the following: (1) Formulation and an-

nouncement of basic policies on new energy use, and (2) financial support measurement for

businesses which use new energy. The Revised Law concerning the Rational Use of Energy

and the Law Concerning the Promotion of the Measures to Cope with Global Warming came

into effect in April 1999. The Basic Environment Plan addresses such energy-related issues

like: Increasing energy and material efficiency in production processes, promoting use of new

and renewable sources of energy, and using environmentally sound technologies for sus-

tainable production. In response to global warming problems, the government of Japan

adopted the Guideline of Measures to Prevent Global Warming in June 1998, which de-

scribes required measures in energy policies to curb the GHG emissions. The council for en-

ergy policy never fails to ask public comments before making decisions. Some of the NGOs

and consumer groups have initiated environmental bookkeeping accounting campaign by

checking the amount of energy consumption of households and offices and hence saving the

energy.

Capacity-Building, Education, Training and Awareness-Raising: In July 1999, the National

Center for the Promotion of Activities to Cope with Global Warming was designated by the

Ministry of the Environment and this center services the information on environment-friendly

products and so on. In December 1998, the first Global Warming Prevention Month was

celebrated. At each school, students learn about these aspects through educational activities

carried out in such classes as Social Studies, Science, Home Economics and Moral Educa-

tion. Guideline of measures to Prevent Global Warming, adopted in 1998, highlights the im-

provement of education and learning relating to environment and energy (nuclear energy,

energy saving etc.). In terms of enhancing safety of handling nuclear materials, Japan Nu-

clear Cycle Development Institute (JNC), a representative research institution for nuclear en-

ergy, has set up special internal training courses, such as “Course for Safety Education for

Managers” and “Course for Training for designating those who are engaged in the Work

dealing with Radiation” for their technical staff. These courses aim at providing them with op-

portunities for obtaining common and basic technology necessary for the work in JNC. The



“Eco-Drive” Programme is implemented for the public awareness of the efficient use of the

automobile.

Information: The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport (MLIT) is authorized to col-

lect data on energy consumption under the Law of Statistics from each transportation mode

to derive the total consumption of the transport sector. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure

and Transport annually edits and publishes the CP2002 Survey on Transport Energy as a

governmental publication. The Survey on Transport Energy is published by the government

as a printed publication. Japan has been disseminating information on international negotia-

tions concerning the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol.

Research and Technologies: The Government has been promoting research and devel-

opment on life-cycle assessment to find a method to evaluate the environmental impacts of a

product throughout its whole life. Reduction of waste generation, promotion of recycling and

improvement of energy efficiency are priority areas. The diffusion of solar batteries was pro-

moted by governmental subsidy in particular for the installation of solar panel on household

roof so that the total subsidy amounted to 10.4 billion yen, for the generation of 12 thousand

kW. The number of wind power generation plants is rapidly increasing in recent years to

about 200 in 1999. Research and development project on direct utilization and utilization by

means of gasification and liquefaction of woody biomass as an energy source is being im-

plemented. A wastewater treatment system was developed by an application of a new meth-

ane fermentation method, i.e. up flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) method for the

wastewater from animal barn. The system requires only half electricity in comparison with a

conventional method. Energy generation system by dry-type methane fermentation method

has also been developed. Demonstration scale plants are now being operated for the evalua-

tion of the practicability of these processes. High sugar producing crops for production of

ethyl alcohol were developed. The diffusion of so called 'Cogeneration' system supplying

electricity and heat simultaneously is also an important progress Japan made since UNCED.

In 1998, the total installations amount to 1,051 and the total capacity amounts to 3.7 million

kW. Solar batteries of which Japan has advanced technology are popular in small appliances

such as electric calculators. Research and development project on utilization of woody bio-

mass is expected to be over by 2004 with operational level technology.

2.2.6 Integrated environment and development in decision making

In June 1996, the Japan Council for Sustainable Development was established. The

Council, consisting of representatives from the government, industry and NGOs, aims at fa-

cilitating dialogue among the members concerning the issues of Sustainable Development.



As an advisory body to the Government, it is mandated to follow up on the progress of

measures taken under the Plan every year. In the areas of institutional and legal framework,

in November 1993 Japan enacted the Basic Environment Law, which serves as a basis for

Japan's environmental policy. The law articulates basic principles of environmental policies,

which are: (1) enjoyment and succession of environmental blessings; (2) creation of a sus-

tainable society which imposes less burden on the environment; and (3) international coop-

eration for the conservation of the global environment.

The law also provides for the roles of the national and local governments, and those of the

private sector and citizens. The Environmental Impact Assessment Law was enacted in

1997, and put in full force and effect in 1999. By this law, Japan has improved old EIA sys-

tem under administrative guidelines, etc. New system introduced the procedure of screening

and scooping, extended the opportunity for hearing public opinion, and so on. In addition,

Japan concretely studies contents and methods regarding how to consider environmental

conservation in the stage of policies and plans that provide frameworks for the design and

implementation of individual projects, after analyzing the current problems. Besides, the na-

tional and local governments accumulate their actual experiences on such considerations,

and examine efficacy and effectiveness of them. Based on this process, a guideline in terms

of environmental consideration in the stage of policies and plans shall be established. In ad-

dition to establishing environmental quality standards regarding air pollution, water pollution,

soil pollution and noise, Japan has devised measures, including regulations for the discharge

of substances, which cause environmental pollution as well as regulations on land-use for

the sake of conserving the natural environment, based on individual laws such as the Air Pol-

lution Control Law, the Water Pollution Control Law and the Nature Conservation Law.

Japan's efforts toward the implementation of Agenda 21, as outlined below, are principally

based on two action plans, namely, the National Agenda 21 Action Plan and the Basic Envi-

ronment Plan, which were formulated in 1993 and 1994 respectively. Japan has been pro-

moting and will further develop various measures in accordance with the provisions of these

plans. The National Agenda 21 Action Plan was completed in December 1993. The

Plan lists various policy measures, which need to be taken, consistent with the programme

areas as provided in Agenda 21. In accordance with the provisions of the Basic Environment

Law, the first Basic Environment Plan was established in December 1994, and the new Plan

was formulated and adopted by the Cabinet in December 2000. The new Plan prescribes the

same four long-term objections as the old one, namely, environmentally sound material cy-

cle, harmonious coexistence, public participation, and international activities, with a view to:



• Building a socio-economic system fostering environmentally-sound material cycles,

where environmental load from human activities is minimized

• Securing a harmonious coexistence between humankind and diverse wildlife and the

natural environment

• Ensuring participation of all the members of society in environmental conservation ac-

tivities and

• Enhancing international activities.

The Plan also identifies outlines of the policies, the roles of each entity of the society, and the

use of various policy instruments to achieve the objectives. The Law Concerning the Promo-

tion of Procurement of Eco-friendly Goods and Services by the State and other entities fully

came into force in April 2001. The law is to establish the necessary provisions to encourage

green purchasing by the Government and so on to establish society, which can enjoy Sus-

tainable Development. To promote environmentally sound land use, Japan has successively

formulated the National Land Use Plans (National Plans). As the basic policy for economic

management, the “Social and Economic Plan for Structural Reforms - Towards a Vital Econ-

omy and Secure Life" which contains various measures for the resolution of global environ-

mental problems, was prepared. Considerations have been given to the environment in such

areas as regional development, based on the provisions in Article 17 of the Basic Law for

Environmental Pollution Control (1967), and Article 5 of the Nature Conservation Law (1972).

Article 19 of the Basic Environmental Law (1993) states that the State shall consider envi-

ronmental conservation when formulating and implementing measures which may influence

the environment.



Figure 29: Important agencies for data collection on environment protection, energy and Cir-

cular Economy



2.3 Netherlands

2.3.1 Situation of the environment

Most emissions are falling, but many environmental targets are not being met under current

policies emissions are decreasing too slowly. Although pressure on the environment is falling

or stabilising, and environmental quality is improving, many environmental targets are not be-

ing met on time (Table 7). The chances of meeting many European emission targets (emis-

sion ceilings) for 2010 are about 50%. Under currently adopted policies it is expected that

European quality standards will most likely not be achieved. Eco-efficiency in the Nether-

lands improving technological improvements are raising eco-efficiency: the relationship be-

tween the profitability of a sector and its emissions is becoming increasingly favourable. Im-

proving eco-efficiency is necessary, but not sufficient for reducing total emissions. In virtually

all sectors eco-efficiency for acidifying compounds has improved so much since 1990 that

emissions are decreasing despite economic growth (Figures 30 and 31). Dutch eco efficien-

cies for SO2 and NO2 are among the best in Europe. In contrast, Dutch CO2 eco efficiency

is not so good: The Dutch economy consumes more energy than the European average

consumption. Emissions of all pollutants except CO2 are currently decreasing, while the

economy is growing. The total cost of reducing pressure on the environment has more than

doubled since 1990, and environmental costs account for 3% of the Dutch gross domestic

product (GDP), almost twice as high as the average for the EU-15.

Figure 30: Trends in emissions from production sector

Source: Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, 2005



Figure 31: Trends in emissions, environmental quality, achievement of policy targets

for 2010 and expenditure on the environment (in millions of euros per year, 2004

prices).


Figure 32: The effects of Dutch national policies and foreign emission reductions on

achieving the Kyoto commitment.




Figure 32 shows the effects pf climate protection policy in the Netherlands and the gap,

which is still open with regard to the targets set by the Kyoto protocol. The government is try-

ing to close the remaining gap by buying foreign emission certificates. This on the other

could be a chance for Circular Economy in China as there are many Kyoto protocol projects,

which can create cheap and sustainable certificates.

2.3.2 Material Flow policy in the Netherlands

The aim an economy wide material flow policy is to enhance dematerialisation of the econ-

omy by reducing resource input into the society by maintaining or even increasing the GDP.

Materials extraction, production, use and waste are inevitably associated with a whole gamut

of environmental problems, varying from climate change, acidification and dispersion of toxic

substances through to loss of biodiversity. Depletion of renewable, living resources like tim-

ber and fish is also a serious environmental issue. Cutting back material flows can therefore

help enhance environmental quality across the board.

The economic activities of production and consumption in the developed nations have unin-

tended environmental repercussions in the developing world. While industries in the devel-

oped world must today meet stringent environmental standards, acquisition of raw materials

from further afield is subject to virtually no such conditions. Over the past four decades, there

has been a major transfer of polluting upstream activities such as mining to the developing

countries, which are often wrenching their own environment for the sake of our prosperity.

These environmental impacts, which are not currently accounted for in product prices, can be

addressed by an economy wide material flow policy.21

Taken from these two reasons for material flow policy the following general objective

for an economy wide material flow policy can be given:

“The aim of an economy wide material flow policy is to reduce the cradle to grave environ-

mental impact of natural resource use, irrespective of where that impact occurs.”

Dematerialization, i.e. reducing the amount of materials used per functional unit of a

product or service, possibly by increasing product lifetime.

Materials substitution, i.e. replacing environmentally damaging materials with more benign

alternatives reuse and recycling, i.e. increasing use of secondary materials where this helps

reduce environmental impact. The Netherlands Ministry of Housing emphasizes that reduc-

21 see: de Bryun et al 2004, p.4



ing the magnitude of material flows – dematerialization – is here viewed as just one of the

possible strategies that might be employed in an economy wide material flow policy. Figure

33 shows the role of a material flow policy in the broader environmental policy context.

Figure 33: Status of material flow policy in the broader environmental policy context

Source: De Bryun, S.M., Sevenster, M.N., Warringa, G.E.A. et al: Economy Wide material flows and

environmental policy: An analysis of indicators and policy uses of economy-wide material flow policy,

Delft, CE 2004.

Environmental

policy

Emissions

policy Soil policy Climate

policy

Biodiversity

policy

Materials policy

Emissions and

waste policy

Reuse and recycling

(waste) policy

Input environmentally

friendly materials

(product policy)

Dematerialization

(efficiency policy)



2.4 USA

In previous conference speech by Angela Leith22 from the US Environmental protection

Agency a new vision fort he USA was presented: moving focus from waste management to

materials management. The following lines will give data about the waste situation in the

USA for the year 2003. Based on this some new ideas for a cradle to cradle system are in-

troduced with the following key aspects:23

• Considering life cycle of products whole supply chain and end of life

• Focusing on front of pipe solutions (e.g. product design)

• Engaging stake stakeholders

• Stimulating consumer demand for greener products

• Providing framework for safe management

US is benefiting from many of the actions taken by countries like Japan (3 R strategy) and

EU member states (WEEE). Ms Leith marked her speech as Circular Economy and the 3 R

initiative. As mentioned above for a more sustainable and more comprehensive use of the

term Circular Economy it is important to include energy, land water into CE systems. This so

far is still missing in the EPA approach.

Figure 34: Planned cradle to system of EPA

Source: Leith, Angela H: Circular Economy and

the 3R Initiative: US Approach,

Milan conference, October 2005

22 Leith, Angela H: Circular Economy and the 3R Initiative: US Approach, 2005



2.4.1 Waste Management

Despite sustained improvements in waste reduction, household waste remains a constant

concern because trends indicate that the overall tonnage we create continues to increase.

Since 1980 the total generation of MSW has increased more than 50 percent to its 2003 level

of just over 236 million tons per year - topping 2002 by more than a half million tons. Exclud-

ing composting MSW recovered for recycling rose to more than 55 million tons, about a 3-

percent increase over 2002. Composting recovered almost 17 million tons.

Recycling and Composting programs for MSW: Around 8875 curbside recycling pro-

grams existed nationwide, down somewhat from 9700 in 2001 and about 3227 community

composting programs were operational, a slight decrease from 2001 figures. The decrease in

recycling and composting programs may be the result of some consolidation of curbside re-

cycling programs and fewer states reporting composting data.24 The total MSW recovery

rate, which includes both recycling and composting, was just over 30 percent in 2003 (see

Tables 7, Figures 34, 35). In 2003, the individual MSW generation rate has remained rela-

tively constant since the 1990s at 4.5 pounds per person per day. The recycling rate was just

over 1 pound per person per day. After accounting for what recycled, about 3 pounds per

person per day was discarded in 2003 (Table 8). In 2003, recycling and composting diverted

more than 72 million tons from disposal. Paper and paperboard recovery rose to 40 million

tons. Metals were recycled at 36 percent, and electronic products had about a 10 percent re-

cycling rate. Consider the significance of these figures today, compared to 1980 when only

10 percent of all MSW was recycled and the rest was disposed. Clearly, it is recycling more

and discarding less. Waste disposed of in combustors and landfills is seen in Figures 36. In

2003, around 33 million tons (14 percent) were combusted, and about 131 million tons (55

percent) went to landfills or were otherwise disposed of.

23 Leith, Angela H: Circular Economy and the 3R Initiative: US Approach, 2005 24 EPA 2005



Table 7:

Source: EPA: MSW Generation, Recycling, and Dis-

posal in the United States: Facts and Figures for

2003, Washington 2005

Table 8:

Source: EPA: MSW Generation, Recycling,

and Disposal in the United States: Facts and

Figures for 2003



Figure 35: Waste generation 1960 to 2003



Figures for 2003

Figure 36: Development of recycling activities from 1960 to 2003





Figures for 2003

Figure 37:

Source: EPA: MSW Generation, Re-

cycling, and Disposal in the United

States: Facts and Figures for 2003

Sources of MSW include both, residential and commercial locations. It was estimated that

residential waste (including waste from apartment houses) account 55 to 65 percent of total

MSW generation. Waste from schools and commercial locations, such as hospitals and busi-

nesses, constitutes 35 to 45 percent of MSW. Local and regional factors, such as climate

and level of commercial activity, contribute to the variations. MSW is analyzed in two ways:

The first is by material (paper and paperboard, yard trimmings, food scraps, plastics, metals,

glass, wood, rubber, leather and textiles, and other); the second is by major product catego-

ries. Product categories include durable goods (like furniture and appliances), nondurable

goods (products meant for disposal), containers and packaging (like milk cartons, cardboard

boxes, plastic wrap) and other wastes (like food scraps and yard trimmings).

2.4.1.1 Materials in MSW

Organic materials continue to be the largest components of MSW: Paper and paperboard

products account for 35 percent of the waste stream, with yard trimmings and food scraps



together accounting for about 24 percent. Plastics comprise 11 percent, metals make up 8

percent and rubber, leather and textiles account for about 7 percent. Wood follows at 6 per-

cent and glass at 5 percent. Finally, other miscellaneous wastes made up approximately 3

percent of the MSW generated in 2003. A breakdown, by weight, of the MSW materials gen-

erated in 2003 is provided in Figure 37.

Figure 38: Origin of waste by percentage in 2003



Figures for 2003

Some material from each MSW category was recycled or composted in 2003. The highest

recovery rates were achieved in yard trimmings, paper products, and metal products. About

56 percent - or about 16 million tons - of yard trimmings were composted, representing al-

most a four-fold increase over 1990. About 48 percent of paper and paperboard were recy-

cled. Nearly 7 million tons, or about 36 percent, of metals were recycled. Recycling rates (re-

covery as a percent of generation) for all material categories in 2003 are listed in Table 9.



Table 9



Figures for 2003

The breakdown, by weight, of product categories generated in 2003 is shown in Figure 38.

Containers and packaging made up the largest portion of waste generated, about 75 million

tons. The second-largest portion of MSW was nondurable goods, comprising just over 26

percent. Durable goods make up the third largest segment, accounting for almost 40 million

tons.



Figure 39:



Figures for 2003

The generation and recovery of the product categories in MSW in 2003 are shown in Table

10. This table shows that recovery of containers and packaging was the highest of the three

product categories, recycling almost 39 percent of containers and packaging. Aluminium,

steel, and paper products were the most recycled materials by percentage in this category.

Nearly 44 percent of all aluminium beverage cans were recycled, while almost 61 percent of

steel packaging (mostly cans) was recovered. About 48 percent of paper and paperboard

was recycled. This figure includes corrugated containers that had a 71 percent recycling rate.

Around 22 percent of glass containers were recycled, while about 15 percent of wood pack-

aging - mostly wood pallets - was recovered for recycling. Nearly 9 percent of plastic con-

tainers and packaging were recycled, which were mostly soft drink, milk and water bottles.

Plastic milk bottles were the most recycled materials, accounting for roughly 32 percent.

Plastic soft drink bottles were recovered at a 25 percent rate. Overall recovery of nondurable

goods was 31 percent in 2003. Paper products, such as newspapers and high-grade office

papers were the most recycled materials. Newspapers alone were recycled at a rate of about

82 percent. Around 56 percent of high-grade office papers, 33 percent of magazines and 32

percent of junk mail were recovered. Slightly more than 18 percent of books, almost 16 per-

cent of telephone directories and nearly 13 percent of other commercial printing products,

accounted for additional recycled paper materials in 2003.



Table 10



Figures for 2003



Clothing and other textile products are included in the nondurable goods category. These

products were recovered for recycling or export at a rate of 16 percent. Overall, approxi-

mately 18 percent of durable goods were recovered in 2003. Nonferrous metals other than

aluminium had one of the highest recovery rates, at nearly 67 percent, due to the high rate of

lead recovery from lead-acid batteries. Recovery of steel in all durable goods was 30 per-

cent, with high rates of recovery from appliances and other miscellaneous durable goods.

Lead-acid batteries were one of the most recovered products in 2003, with a recycling rate of

93 percent. Other products with particularly high recovery rates were steel from major appli-

ances (about 90 percent), corrugated boxes (about 71 percent), newspapers (about 82 per-

cent), steel cans (60 percent), and aluminium beverage cans (about 44 percent). Around 10

percent of selected consumer electronics, including computers, TVs, stereos, cell phones

and similar equipment, were recycled. The percent of rubber in tires that was recovered for

recycling was almost 36 percent. Other tires were retreated and shredded rubber tires were

also used as fuel, or burned for energy recovery.

Figure 40: Composition of waste



Figures for 2003



Figure 41: Waste treatment in 2003



Figures for 2003

Table 11: Waste generation, treatment and recovery in Mio tons from 1960 to 2003



Figures for 2003



Table 12: Waste generation, treatment, and recovery in percentage of tons from 1960

to 2003



Figures for 2003

2.4.1.2 The RCRA (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act) vision paper 25

The RCRA vision paper provides ideas and proposals for waste and materials management

in the year 2020 in the USA. In 2020 materials that were once considered wastes suitable

only for landfilling are now continually reused and recycled and industrial ecology has be-

come the mantra of corporate executives across the nation. Landfills are becoming

obsolete – the small volumes of waste that actually need disposal are carefully managed un-

der an efficient and environmentally protective system that features a mix of economic incen-

tives, voluntary measures, and regulatory controls. Cleanup of most contaminated sites has

been largely completed, and thousands of areas once known as brownfields have been put

back into productive use.

In 2006 the USA still is a very inefficient energy consuming waste disposing society as the

previous figures above clearly shows. The RCRA vision therefore needs a lot of explanations

and strategy tools to become true in 2020.



New goals for RCRA 2020

a. Reduce waste and increase the efficient and sustainable use of resources

b. Prevent exposures to humans and ecosystems from the use of hazardous chemicals

c. Manage wastes and clean up chemical releases in a safe, environmentally sound

manner. As discussed under Goals 1 and 2, a fully realized transition from a RCRA

style waste management program to a broader waste/materials management system

has the potential for substantially reducing the volumes and toxicity of wastes gener-

ated by the USA businesses and households. Unfortunately, US industry and con-

sumers are not yet as efficient as nature at materials use and are unlikely to become

so in the next few decades.

Tools and strategies to achieve the goals of RCRA 2020

• Economic tools: reduce current subsidies and incentives, which encourage

the use of virgin raw materials; Taking steps to create economic incentives for

recycling and reuse, and using renewable resources.

• Informational and technical innovations may also be effective

• New regulatory strategies might be needed

In fashioning the new waste management strategy the authors of beyond RCRA contemplate

the need to address the question of how and at what point in a materials life cycle would the

material be considered as waste. In German waste management law this is clearly defined at

the point where the consumer wants to dispose of the material.

Under an integrated waste / materials management system, the current gradle to grave ap-

proach would be supplanted by gradle to gradle strategies where previous waste basically is

considered to be valuable materials.

25 EPA United Staes Environmental Protection Agency: Beyond RCRA. Waste and Materials Management in the Year 2020,

Washington DC 2003.



2.5 European Union

With regard to Circular Economy developments in Germany, Netherlands, Austria or other

countries, it is important to look at the role and the strategies of the European Commission.

Environmental policy may consider Circular Economy as a part of EP is a mayor field of

activity of the European Commission. Directives and regulation from the EU has to be imple-

mented by all EU member states. Therefore the 6 Environmental Action Programme of the

Commission, which intends to develop a thematic strategy for the sustainable use of re-

sources should be looked at closer in this report. Three strategic components evolve to be of

importance to the EU - knowledge gathering, policy assessment and policy integration.

The objectives and measures for eventually integrating resource management in other policy

areas will be based on the first preceding steps. The most important political innovation of

the resource strategy will be that it connects different resource-related policies that are usu-

ally dealt with isolated approaches and policies with three interrelated initiatives:

a. The Resource Strategy 26

b. The Integrated Product Policy 27

c. The Strategy on the Prevention and Recycling of Waste 28

The proposals for the strategy are not yet as precautionary as the approaches of some of the

EU Member States and other industrialized countries such as, for example, Japan. The pre-

cautionary approach accepts that resource consumption of industrialized countries is too

high. As any impact on the environment results from resource use this approach supposes

that a general decrease of resource use will result in an overall reduction of negative envi-

ronmental impacts. In contrast to this approach some proponents of the resource strategy

wish to be more accurate. They suppose that not the overall quantity of resource consump-

tion, but only certain qualities of the industrial metabolism need to be controlled. This ap-

proach can be more specific and targeted. The drawback is that it further delays action, be-

cause there is not enough information available on the ecological impacts of the industrial

metabolism. If one intends to explore environmental impacts, it is questionable whether the

knowledge gathering and the improvement of impact assessments will take place in an ac-

26 COM (2003) 572 27 COM (2003) 302 28 COM (2003) 301



ceptable time frame. In relation to the decades it took to understand the ecological impacts of

single molecules such as PVC, CO2, CFCs the complete mapping of the physical throughput

and potential impacts might require at least (another) 30 years. In this phase of the strategic

debate there is room for both “fuzzy” operationable principles for immediate precautionary

action as well as a long-term mapping of the resource use and its impacts. Further refine-

ment of impact assessment will have to consider requirements of leaner governance and

faster economic decision-making as intended by the EC 29

It could happen that the developed methodologies will be costly or complex.

On the one hand, complex and time-intensive impact assessments could ultimately lead to

the same conclusions for designing policies as directionally safe win-win objectives promot-

ing a general decoupling. On the other hand, lean and rapid impact assessments will most

likely deliver random results most sensitive to political influence by non-scientific interests.

Immediate precautionary action is possible, because there has been enough knowledge

gathering on the “hot spots” that accelerate environmental degradation. From a life-cycle

perspective, environmental impact potentials in conjunction with resource use are highest in

the consumer fields “housing”, “food”, and “mobility”.30

Also the bottleneck of progress is recognized since the Global Assessment of the 5th Envi-

ronmental Action Programme: not the traditional environmental policy has failed, but primarily

the integration of environmental requirements in other policy areas. The “hot spots” of envi-

ronmental pressure are created by driving-forces influenced primarily not by environmental

but other policies. Therefore sustainable use and management of natural resources have to

be integrated in the principles e.g. of the EU’s trade, fishery or industry policy. Therefore,

knowledge gathering is more required to specify how a resource strategy can be imple-

mented and coordinated across the different sectors and various governance levels (vertical

and horizontal policy integration). For achieving this aim special attention needs to be di-

rected towards sectoral integration strategies, 31 but also to overarching, cross-sectoral EU

policy processes. Most of all, the EU has to adapt its economic policy in order to further de-

couple resource consumption from economic growth. For a systemic resource management

there are basically three different intervention points (Bringezu).

1.) Resource extraction or imports

29 Commission (COM (2002) 276) 30 see e.g. Moll et al. 2004, van der Voet et al. 2003, Tucker et al. 2004, Institut Wallon de développement économique et social

et d’aménagement du territoire/Vlaamse Instelling voor Technologisch Onderzoek 2002, BIO Intelligence Service/O2 France

2003 31 see SOEOR, 2005, Subreport 5 on policy integration



2.) Production and consumption

3.) Waste Management

A strategy for the sustainable use and management of natural resources will have to connect

all three intervention points. Important will also be the system borders. In a globalised econ-

omy, the limiting of the perspective on Europe, will not be appropriate as resource input,

waste outputs and problem shifting have global dynamics.

The Lisbon process could be a starting point for achieving better policy coherence.

2.5.1 Sustainable use and management of natural resources

and the Lisbon Process

At the Summit in Lisbon in March 2000 the Council declared the new strategic goal for 2010:

the European Union should become the most competitive knowledge-based economy of the

world with sustainable economic growth and more and better employment opportunities and

greater social cohesion. The Sapier Report 32 has formulated an agenda of how such a strat-

egy can be pursued in a growing Europe. Pelkmans/Cassey (2004) add useful analysis for

the level of the Member States. Our study proposes to link the Lisbon process with the EU

resource strategy.

Quantitative targets and timetables completed the new “Leitbild” of Lisbon. The chosen struc-

tural indicators for monitoring the socio-economic progress developed into a central instru-

ment of political controlling in the European Union. According to the Feira European Council

in June 2000 the Commission is expected to table for each Spring Council a so-called syn-

thesis report based on the structural indicators and benchmarks.

The decision established a central indicator-based monitoring and reporting tool for political

decision-making and assessment. A preliminary list of 35 indicators, which the Commission

and Council had decided upon in November 2000, was based on a Council decision of

March 2000. In its Communication on the structural indicators of November,33 the European

Commission explains that the choice of the indicators was based on preceding processes. A

large share of the indicators had already been presented in the framework of the so-called

„Broad Economic Policy Guidelines“. The result presented to the 2002 Council in Nice is ac-

32 Sapier et al. 2003 33 COM (2000) 594



cording to the Commission a comprehensive summary of the most important performance

indicators. During the selection of indicators the following criteria had been considered: 34

• Easy to read and understand

• Policy relevant

• Mutually consistent

• Available in a timely fashion

• Comparable across Member States and, as far as possible, with the US

• Selected from reliable sources

• The data requirement should not impose too large a burden on Member States and

enterprises

The structural indicators will be used for two purposes: 35

1. Monitoring progress, both in achieving the identified targets and in implementing poli-

cies

2. Assessing the effectiveness of policies.

In its communication the Commission admits that the first goal can be achieved rather easily,

but the performance evaluation of measures will be a greater challenge, since it is based on

an understanding of the relation between action and measured results.

There is a tension between simplification and differentiation. On the one hand, indicators

have great advantages:36 “Simple and objective quantitative policy and performance indica-

tors can play an important role in highlighting problems, measuring progress in achieving the

targets identified, guiding policy makers in their policy efforts, and focussing public attention

on what is at stake”. On the other hand, the evaluation has to take place in the framework of

the synthesis report to avoid over- and misinterpretation. Some data are only comparable to

a very limited degree. In March 2001 the Stockholm European Council expanded the scope

of the structural indicators from purely socio-economic objectives to sustainability. In particu-

lar the heads of state and governments wanted to know about the contribution that the envi-

ronment technology sector could make to promote growth and employment. Since Stock-

holm, the areas for the synthesis reports are:

1. Employment

34 COM (2000) 594, p.9 35 COM (2000) 594, p. 5 36 COM (2000) 594, p. 6



2. Innovation

3. Economic reform

4. Social cohesion

5. Environmental aspects of sustainable development.

In October 2001 the Commission proposed environmental indicators, which were approved

in December 2001 by the European Council in Laeken, so that the Commission could al-

ready present an integrated synthesis report with altogether 42 structural indicators in spring

2002. In comparison with the version from September 2000, the indicators of first four policy

areas and the structural indicators were only slightly modified while the environmental as-

pects of Sustainable Development were a completely new area. Six areas reflect the eco-

logical dimension of the EU Sustainable Development Strategy:

1. Energy

2. Climat protection

3. Transport

4. Environment

5. Health

6. Natural resources

It was already agreed in Laeken that the environmental indicators would need further refine-

ment. For this purpose a so-called “open list” with a core set of environmental headline indi-

cators was developed. The integrated environment indicators as well as the open list should

be followed-up according to the political priorities of the Union. In 2003 the Italian Presidency

reversed the openness of the spring reporting. The list of 42 indicators was drastically re-

duced to 14. Instead of seven only three indicators should help to monitor the environmental

dimension of the Sustainable Development Strategy.

The 2004 Spring Report includes the indicators:

• Total greenhouse gas emissions

• Energy intensity of the economy

• Volume of freight transport relative to GDP

Altogether the Spring Reporting is a positive policy innovation. It helps to see the different

dimensions of European integration and can thus contribute to more policy coherence. Get-

ting “the big picture” might also be necessary with regard to the considerable expansion of



the European Union in very heterogenous regions. Nevertheless, the Lisbon process should

monitor sustainable use and management of natural resources. Here, material flow based

indicators have to find a place. This view is also supported by a recent OECD Council rec-

ommendation.37 Crucial for integrating resource strategy in the Lisbon agenda is whether it

will be possible to explain how this contributes to the paramount objective of the Union: to

become the most competitive knowledge-based society. The mid-term evaluation of the Lis-

bon process in spring 2005 will probably indicate insufficient progress in meeting the social,

economic and environmental objectives. The mid-term evaluation could therefore be a stra-

tegically important opportunity to demonstrate that real progress can be achieved by exploit-

ing the environmental dimension of competitiveness and job creation. According to Ecotec

(2002) the eco-industry contributes to a fast growing market with a volume of about 550 Bil-

lion EUR. According to the US Department of Commerce the growth rate in western industri-

alized countries in 1998/1999 was about 7 - 9 %. At the same time in developing market

economies the turnover grew by 10 - 17 %. Even in times of economic stagnation, the growth

of this sector is relatively stable. In Germany, for example, DESTATIS has confirmed a

growth rate of the eco-industry by 3.7 % during 2001. The export of the German eco-industry

even grew by 19.3 %. The world market for eco-products and services is dominated to 85%

by the USA, the EU and Japan. The European Union holds about one third of the world mar-

ket. From 1997 - 1999 the profit from global trade of the EU was about € 5 billion. Ecotech

(2003) estimates the eco-industry’s share of total employment in the EU to be about 1.3 %. It

is recommendable to evaluate these numbers against highly volatile sectors such as the me-

dia or IT-sector in order to find out the most significant growth and employment opportunities.

The growth of the eco-sector in the CEE has already outnumbered South-East-Asian growth

rates. In this context it would also be recommendable to learn from the accession of the for-

mer GDR in order to avoid unnecessary economic risks, because overcapacities of environ-

mental end-of-pipe infrastructure can contribute to decrease competitiveness.

• Increased competitiveness through cost-savings

The drawback of growth rates in the eco-industry is that this primarily relates to end-of pipe

technology (to a lesser but increasing extend also renewable energy). End-of-pipe technol-

ogy leads to abatement costs. They express economic, health and ecological risks that need

to be overcome technologically. Like the health care system growth rates of the eco-industry

express ultimately the existence of risks. For a better quality of life and lower production

37 OECD 2004



costs it would be more desirable to prevent health and ecological risks from occurring rather

than repairing them with often expensive technology. Therefore, it is wiser to take more pre-

cautionary and preventive actions. The disadvantage of these more intelligent approaches is

that it seems to be impossible to empirically show the economic benefits. This has an impor-

tant statistical reason (“integration paradox”): Once management of natural resources is inte-

grated in the mainstream corporate controlling it is not anymore considered to be “eco”, but

“business as usual”. Therefore, the above mentioned estimates of Ecotec (2000) do not re-

veal the true contribution of environmental policies to economic growth, which is also charac-

terized by a general improvement of resource efficiency in the producing sectors. Although

systematic research in this field is lacking, the Wuppertal Institute has statistical evidence

that costs of resource use are often more relevant for competitive production costs than the

labour costs. Today in Germany in addition to the costs the simple availability of resources

becomes a crucial point for companies. The structure of the manufacturing industry in Ger-

many shows that costs for material and energy make up 50% of the total costs of companies,

labour costs constitute about 20%, other costs another 20%, and depreciation rent make up

10% of the total costs. 38

As a result material efficiency is the key factor for reducing life cycle costs. Nonetheless, the

public discussion is focusing on personnel costs, which account only for 23% of total costs.

In order to maintain and increase competitiveness, industry continuously seeks to increase

the material efficiency. Existing methods to increase materials efficiency are for example ‘de-

sign-to-competitiveness’ and ‘zero loss management’. ‘Design-to-competitiveness’ aims at

the reduction of customers’ cost of non-quality and maintenance by modifying design specifi-

cations. ‘Zero loss management’ is a zero-based budgeting approach toward materials effi-

ciency in production processes that aims on the reduction of material and energy losses. It

has been effectively applied in a variety of industries. The two methods together are esti-

mated to increase the material efficiency up to 20%. 39

However, incentives and coordination are needed to exploit these potentials and to shift the

technology frontier. The issue of unemployment brings out the macroeconomic relevance of

material efficiency. The labour productivity relative to the GNP has continuously been in-

creasing for the past 30 years. In fact, material and energy productivity are also increasing,

but much slower than labour productivity. Economic policies should therefore be designed to

give more incentives to increase the productivity of material and energy use rather than to

further increase labour productivity, which usually results in less employment. This insight is

38 Fischer 2003



not new, it has been already recognized in the early 1990ies by the so-called “Delor White

Paper on Growth, Competitiveness and Employment”.

Sustainable Development calls for a new economic development model. The current devel-

opment model seems to be extremely inefficient in using the primary production factors, la-

bour and nature: “The serious economic and social problems the Community currently faces

are the result of some fundamental inefficiencies: an ‘under-use’ of the quality and quantity of

the labour force, combined with an ‘over-use’ of natural and environmental resources. … The

basic challenge of a new economic development model is to reverse the present negative re-

lationship between environmental conditions and the quality of life. 40 A study has tried to

model the effects of dematerialization on economic growth, employment and state budget in

Germany. If cost-savings are re-invested into R&D and engineering strategies, a 2.3%

growth, additional 750 000 jobs and decreased public spending on social welfare would be

attainable. 41

• Increased competitiveness of eco-efficient products and services

This economic drive for natural resource savings will increase due to long-term scarcity of

strategic resources. This will not only improve eco-efficiency on the European supply side,

but also increase the demand for eco-efficient technology, especially in countries that are in

the resource-intensive phase of early industrialisation. In April 2004 economic analysts were

commenting the exploding market prices for commodities. The booming economy in Asia

mainly in China is soaking precious resources towards East Asia, which results in soaring

commodity prices.

By systematically exploring potentials for natural resource savings the EU could considerably

lower production costs and contribute to the WSSD Global Deal by reducing further depletion

of natural resources. Especially with the new Member States the potentials for saving natural

resources are considerable. The average energy and materials intensity of the new EU-

Member States surpass the average EU 15 values by almost a factor 4 to 5. In other words:

80% of the energy in the new Member States is wasted or 5 times more value added can be

created out of a ton of materials according to normal EU-15 standards! The fact that the EU-

15 energy consumption can be decreased again by a factor 4 by applying state of the art

technology gives an impression of the vast room for improvements. The potential for increas-

ing materials resource productivity are even higher. As the example from Weilerbach in

39 Fischer 2003 40 COM (1993) 700 41 Fischer et al. 2004



Germany shows, alone the energy saving potentials sum up to at least 50%. By saving natu-

ral resources rather than human resources the EU could indeed become the most competi-

tive knowledge-based society with growing employment opportunities. The systematic firing

of people often makes less economic sense than investing in eco-efficiency and demateriali-

sation. This could considerably increase competitiveness especially against countries which

oppose precautionary approaches. Along these lines policies will have to be formulated and

indicators for monitoring need to be chosen. To this end it is not only necessary to compare

the energy and materials intensity of each country, but to complement this information by an

indicator of the total material requirement of each Member State.

2.5.2 Options for a resource policy

Resources already pose significant costs to industry. Pursuing the usual environmental pol-

icy aim of internalising negative externalities does not have to start from scratch. Policies can

concentrate on proper legal and economic incentives that do not harm the economy and on

those effects that are not yet internalised. One should also bear in mind that prevailing envi-

ronmental policy has turned out to perform better in economic terms than many sceptic ob-

servers tend to believe42. Because resources already pose significant costs to industry, one

can also expect existing property rights and management tools that ought to be strengthened

by comprehensive policies. In that regard, incentives for the generation of knowledge on re-

source management can be seen as a key to better performance. A current lack of property

rights and policies can be observed in some regions where resource extraction takes place

(Miranda et al). This deficit leads to negative environmental impacts, especially in those re-

gions. EU policies are needed to address that issue in various ways:

• Firstly, the accession countries and Eastern Europe should be supported in formulat-

ing and implementing policies addressing sustainable resource extraction.

• Secondly, developing countries should gain some support for their sustainable use

and management of natural resources, too.

• Thirdly, the EU will have to avoid a possible problem shifting from extraction proc-

esses within its strong jurisdiction to other regions in the world where resource extrac-

tion may pose lower costs and lead to negative externalities. African countries, China,

but also Australia can be seen as some resource exporting regions, which ought to

be monitored and addressed by EU.

Possible Resource Policies include the following options:



1. Incentives for “Value chain management” within industries: This can be seen as a starting

point since resources are predominantly managed by industries. Incentives may include re-

porting mechanisms, promoting the concept of ‘producer responsibility’, accounting require-

ments, etc.

2. Coordinated programmes for market diffusion of eco-efficient products and services (simi-

lar to programmes known from the energy sector, see also Environmental Technology Action

Plan 43

3. Coordinated R&D programmes for system innovation. The emerging EU Technology Plat-

forms on fuel cells and hydrogen can be seen as starting point for similar options regarding

resources. They address the need for coordinated system innovation and roadmaps beyond

incremental improvements and diffusion of best practices.

4. EU data bank on MFA and resource use data and indicators, to be harmonized interna-

tionally and open for corporate and individual access. This could be a task for the future

ETC-WMF in accordance with EUROSTAT and OECD. It is fully in line with what has been

said about the importance of knowledge gathering in the communication by the European

Commission (2003: pp. 24 ff.) and above. One should note, however, that this implies a fo-

cus of knowledge gathering on resource management and on the access to data on material

flows rather than on the environmental impacts of single resource use patterns. Both aspects

are indeed not in contradiction, but from a policy point of view the former focus is perhaps

closer to the ETAP and Lisbon than impact analysis.

5. A European Network of ‚Eco-Efficiency Agencies’ (see www.ea-nrw.de. Agencies can play

a good role for disseminating good practices, as a clearinghouse between professional con-

sultants and firms, and as a mechanism for increasing knowledge on sustainable resource

management. Given that small and medium-sized companies and various regional legal

frameworks are of importance, regional agencies and a European network among them

seems superior to any possible European agency.

6. A binding target for resource productivity plus a target for resource use: Targets for re-

source productivity exist already in some member states (e.g. Germany, see Table 3-2). The

policy issue now can be seen in formulating an EU target, discussing an allocation on mem-

ber state level, coming to terms with self commitments of industry or any legally binding re-

quirements. In that regard, one should also keep in mind possible conflicts within the concept

of sustainable growth: Increasing resource productivity can go along with increasing resource

42 CEC 2004 43 COM (2004) 38



use if the overall economic growth rate exceeds productivity increase. It seems thus desir-

able to formulate a sub-target for resource use that ensures an absolute decoupling from

economic growth at EU level.

7. Whether and how sectoral targets should be formulated also deserves further attention.

Resource policies might also start with negotiated agreements on action in certain branches

monitored by independent bodies according to OECD guidelines. Experiences with transition

management (e.g. in The Netherlands) could be evaluated in this regard.

8. Economic incentives are surely an option for possible resource policies. The debate as

such is well-known.3 Important for resources is the acknowledgement that some member

states have already adopted raw material taxes 44 Further policy options may include a Mate-

rial Input Tax or tradable permits for the use of certain strategic resources.

9. Mechanisms for supporting sustainable use and management of natural resources in re-

source exporting countries. It may come as a surprise that these options entail many ‘soft’

options where information and knowledge are a key rather than command-and-control of in-

dustries. The main reason for that approach stems from the analysis that industry will gain

self-interest in sustainable resource management and that current policies from EU and its

member states can be used as points of departure (Jordan et al. 2003). Nevertheless, much

policy attention will have to be devoted to formulate strategies for increasing resource pro-

ductivity and to overcome scepticism (Bleischwitz et al, 2004, p.59).

2.5.3 Recommendation of the Council on Material Flows and Resource

productivity towards the European Policy Committee (EPOC)

The Council on Material Flows and Resource productivity recommends that member coun-

tries:

(I) Take steps to improve information on material flows, including its quality and relevance for

environmental management, in particular:

• Develop methodologies to enhance knowledge of material flows within and among

countries

• Consolidate and improve data collection concerning material flows within and among

countries

• Develop tools to measure resource productivity and economy-wide material flows,



including appropriate estimation methods, accounts and indicators;

(II) Further develop and use indicators to better integrate environmental and economic

decisionmaking, and to measure environmental performance with respect to the

sustainability of material resource use;

(III) Promote the development and use of material flow analysis and derived indicators at

macro and micro levels;

(IV) Link environmental and economic related information through work on material flows,

stocks and flows of natural resources, environmental expenditure, and macro-economic

aspects of environmental policies;

(V) Co-operate to develop common methodologies and measurement systems of material

lows, with emphasis on areas in which comparable and practicable indicators can be defined,

drawing on work already done at national and at international level.

The Council on Material Flows and resource productivity instructs the Environmental Policy

Committee:

(I) To support and facilitate member countries' efforts to improve information on material

flows and related indicators, including through exchange of information on national and

international innovative experiences;

(II) To continue efforts to improve methods and indicators for the assessment of the

efficiency of material resource use in important areas;

(III) To develop a guidance document to assist member countries in implementing and using

common material flow accounts;

(IV) To carry out these tasks in co-operation with other appropriate OECD bodies and other

international organisations to prevent duplication and reduce costs;

(V) To report to the Council on progress achieved by Member countries in implementing this

recommendation, within three years of its adoption.



3 International circular economy development policy summary

and analysis

Taken the above description of EU, Germany, Netherlands, Japan and the USA in account it

becomes obvious that there are different approaches and different strategies towards a new

and more efficient resource society. The term Circular Economy is most widely used in

China. If it comes to politics neither of the other states claims to become a Circular Economy.

Germany and Netherlands as well the European Commission seem to have the more holistic

approach toward a sustainable society, which as a matter of fact includes a Circular Econ-

omy. In their Sustainable Development strategies not only waste and waste management is

in the focus but also other important aspects of ecosystem management like biodiversity, wa-

ter protection, land use and as a very important aspect social criteria. These holistic ap-

proaches towards a sustainable society are implemented through many different, segregated

laws. China is using the term Circular Economy is trying to develop a law for implementing it.

Japan already ha a law for establishing the recycling based society stemming from the year

2000. Some developed countries such as Germany, Japan, and the USA are to some differ-

ent degree engaged in legislation related to Circular Economy. Germany being the first

county to enact a kind of CE law which actually mainly focuses in the waste management

field. Germanys closed substance cycle law of course was a highlight of resource policy and

the EU landfill regulation which was imposed in Germany in June 2005 maybe is the most

resource redirecting policy step ever implemented in Germany. With the phasing out of land-

fill for untreated waste Germany and gradually all Europe starts steering towards a resource

conscious country and continent.

Japan has a perfect law system on Circular Economy, which covers each field of production

and life. There are eight laws in the system among which the law on formation and promotion

of Circular Economy enacted in 2000 is the most typical. According to Lu et al (2005) this law

makes Japan stand out in Circular Economy policy implementation. On the other hand the

Circular Economy law in Japan is very much based on waste and waste management. But

as we learned from the CE theory aside form waste the whole ecological aspects of material

flow including energy has to be considered.

Though the USA has no comprehensive law on Circular Economy, its law on resource pro-

tection and reclamation, and pollution prevention, has somehow embodied the thought of

Circular Economy. Given the waste statistics mentioned in chapter 2 the USA nevertheless is

still struggling with a modern innovative overall resource recovering waste management. The

fact that more than 8000 recycling programs existed in 2003 and more than 3000 composting

plants were operating in the USA sounds good. But a real Circular Economy is a much more



comprehensive and clean technology as well as sufficiency oriented policy and strategy.

They yet have to develop energy saving recycling systems and abandon the uneconomic,

energy wasting and environment damaging way of disposing waste in landfills or wasting en-

ergy on transports and composting. At least in a strategy paper (beyond RCRA) EPA special-

ists already think about abandoning the term waste and switching to the term resources.

There is no evidence so far on systemically involving the energy and material flow aspects

into the new waste management strategies as it is becoming business as usual in Germany

and other European countries like Austria and the Netherlands.

As aside from Japan the European Commission seems at least in theoretical terms to be the

most advanced region with regard to developing a resource efficient society the following

lines give a more detailed inside view on the strategic discussion within the EU.



Abbreviations

ACS Association of Caribbean States

AMCEN Africa Ministerial Conference on the Environment

AMU Arab Maghreb Union

APEC Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations

CARICOM The Caribbean Community and Common Market

CBD Convention on Biological Diversity

CIS Commonwealth of Independent States

CGIAR Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research

CILSS Permanent Inter-State Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel

CITES Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora

COMESA Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa

CSD Commission on Sustainable Development of the United Nations

DESA Department for Economic and Social Affairs

ECA Economic Commission for Africa

ECCAS Economic Community for Central African States

ECE Economic Commission for Europe

ECLAC Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean

ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States

EEZ Exclusive Economic Zone

EIA Environmental Impact Assessment

ESCAP Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific

ESCWA Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia

EU European Union

FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

FIDA Foundation for International Development Assistance



GATT General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade

GAW Global Atmosphere Watch (WMO)

GEF Global Environment Facility

GEMS Global Environmental Monitoring System (UNEP)

GESAMP Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protec-

tion

GHG Greenhouse Gas

GIS Geographical Information Systems

GLOBE Global Legislators Organisation for a Balanced Environment

GOS Global Observing System (WMO/WWW)

GRID Global Resource Information Database

HIV/AIDS Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency

ICSC International Civil Service Commission

ICSU International Council of Scientific Unions

ICT Information and Communication Technology

ICTSD International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development

IEEA Integrated Environmental and Economic Accounting

IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development

IFCS Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety

IGADD Intergovernmental Authority on Drought and Development

ILO International Labour Organisation

IMF International Monetary Fund

IMO International Maritime Organization

IOC Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission

IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

IPCS International Programme on Chemical Safety

IPM Integrated Pest Management



IRPTC International Register of Potentially Toxic Chemicals

ISDR International Strategy for Disaster Reduction

ISO International Organization for Standardization

ITTO International Tropical Timber Organization

IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources

LA21 Local Agenda 21

LDCs Least Developed Countries

MARPOL International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships

MEAs Multilateral Environmental Agreements

NEAP National Environmental Action Plan

NEPAD New Partnership for Africa’s Development

NGOs Non-Governmental Organizations

NSDS National Sustainable Development Strategies

OAS Organization of American States

OAU Organization for African Unity

ODA Official Development Assistance/Overseas Development Assistance

OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

PPP Public-Private Partnership

PRSP Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers

SACEP South Asian Cooperative Environment Programme

SADC Southern African Development Community

SARD Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development

SIDS Small Island Developing States

SPREP South Pacific Regional Environment Programme

TMR Total Material Requirement

UN United Nations

UNAIDS United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS



UNCED United Nations Conference on Environment and Development

UNCCD United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification

UNCHS United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat)

UNCLOS United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea

UNCTAD United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

UNDP United Nations Development Programme

UNDRO Office of the United Nations Disaster Relief Coordinator

UNEP United Nations Environment Programme

UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

UNFF United Nations Forum on Forests

UNFPA United Nations Population Fund

UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

UNICEF United Nations Children's Fund

UNIDO United Nations Industrial Development Organization

UNIFEM United Nations Development Fund for Women

UNU United Nations University

WFC World Food Council

WHO World Health Organization

WMO World Meteorological Organization

WSSD World Summit on Sustainable Development

WTO World Trade Organization

WWF World Wildlife Fund

WWW World Weather Watch (WMO)



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