Natural Resource Management and the Circular Economy
Since the Industrial Revolution, the total amount of waste has constantly grown as economic growth has been based on a ‘take-make-consume- dispose’ model. This linear model assumes resources are abundant, available, and cheap to dispose of. While the current linear economic model has generated an unprecedented level of growth, it has led to constraints on the availability of natural resources due to rising demand, generation of waste, and environmental degradation.
From the sustainable development perspective, the linear economy is leading to the rapid accumulation of human and physical capital at the expense of natural capital, impacting the ability of current generations to ensure future generations have at least the same level of welfare. While weak sustainability proponents argue that depleted natural capital can be replaced by even more valuable physical and human capital, the strong view is that natural capital should be protected, not depleted, due to it being exhaustible, often unevenly distributed geographically, limited in availability at times, and undervalued, as associated benefits, including their non-use benefits, are not reflected in market prices of natural resources.
Around the world, there is a move towards a ‘circular economy’ where products and waste materials are reused, repaired, refurbished, and recycled with significant economic and environmental benefits. A key aspect of the circular economy is that materials, which have accumulated in the through recycling to gain secondary raw materials and reused and remanufactured to keep products in the commercial lifecycle. The overall aim of the circular economy is to decouple economic growth from resource use and associated environmental impacts.
Government intervention has an important role in developing the circular economy and encouraging a life cycle perspective to be taken by economic actors. In particular, governments can use a variety of innovative policy tools, both fiscal and non-fiscal in nature, including environmental taxes and charges, subsidies and incentives, and tradeable permits as well as regulations, business support mechanisms, and information and awareness campaigns, to encourage businesses to design out waste throughout the value chain rather than rely on solutions at the end of a product’s life, facilitate access to financial capital for businesses developing circular economy innovations, provide research and development funding for circular economy technologies, support entrepreneurs and small-to-medium enterprises developing new circular economy markets, and facilitate better consumption choices by consumers.
Hong Kong’s Green Procurement
Since 2000, the Hong Kong Government has required bureaus and departments to consider environmental considerations when procuring goods and services. Specifically, bureaus and departments are encouraged to avoid single-use items and purchase products:
- with improved recyclability, high recycled content, reduced packaging, and greater durability;
- with greater energy efficiency;
- which utilise clean technology and/or clean fuels;
- which result in reduced water consumption;
- which emit fewer irritating or toxic substances during installation or use; and
- which result in the smaller production of toxic substances, or of less toxic substance, upon disposal.
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