Waste management – a key element of the circular economy

The global economy has historically been dominated by a model of linear consumption and production, which implies that goods are produced from raw materials, sold, used and disposed of as waste. The waste generated by this production is mostly accumulated in landfills or incinerated. In contrast, the circular economy is a social, technological and economic paradigm that aims to build a model of production and consumption focused on reducing waste and maximizing the recovery of discarded materials. The key challenges relate to the transition from the perception of "waste as a problem" to "waste as a resource" that needs to be restored and revalued, through recycling, reuse or some other form of exploitation. Bio-waste and plastic waste deserve special attention, both because of their volume and because of their importance, that is, their impact on the environment and climate change. More efficient waste management is the first step towards a circular economy - in which most products and materials are recycled or repaired and reused. The circular economy aims to erase the concept of waste, rely on renewable and regenerative sources and keep materials, components and systems in use at their highest value for as long as possible. In most well-organized waste management systems, thermal treatment is most often applied to manage the remaining waste stream, obtained after the separation of recyclable fractions and organic components. Energy from waste can be obtained using different technologies, where each of the technologies requires different amounts of input raw materials, emits different amounts of carbon dioxide, has different output products and is of different efficiency.