The world is facing many challenges. The growing population demands more resources, including a safe food supply. At the same time, climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss limit the availability. A disruptive and comprehensive solution can be offered by a sustainable and circular bioeconomy as it bridges environment, society and economy. The future success of Europe lies on how the bioeconomy is embraced by the EU citizens as a solution for improving our environment, providing us with renewable resources and healthy food, and offer jobs where people live, both in urban and rural areas.

Author:  Katerina Medkova

Sustainable & Circular Bioeconomy – the European Way

On October 22, 2018, the Bioeconomy (BE) conference was organised under the Austrian presidency by the European Commission and by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Sustainability and Tourism in the Charlemagne building, in Brussels, Belgium. The full title of the conference was Sustainable & circular bioeconomy, the European way. The reason for organizing this high-level event was to turn the spotlight on the update of the 2012 EU Bioeconomy Strategy, which was announced on October 11, 2018. (European Commission 2017; 2018)

Figure 1. Bioeconomy conference in Brussels gathered many participants.

The strategy defines BE as ”the production of renewable biological resources and the conversion of these resources and waste streams into value-added products, such as food, feed, bio-based products as well as bio-energy”. Bioeconomy is worth of € 2.2 trillion in turnover and employs over 18 million people in the EU. The sustainable and circular BE can generate up to 1 000 000 new jobs by 2030. BE can help us to reach the renewable energy targets of 27% by 2020 and 32% by 2030. (European Commission 2017; 2018)

According to John Bell, Director Bioeconomy, not one BE exists but many diverse bioeconomies, which Europe should harvest. BE pulls together all the aspects of the challenges Europe is facing, such as climate change, protection and restoration of natural resources, biodiversity and food security. Bell also stated that Europe is moving from an aspiration to the realisation of sustainable bioeconomy. Sustainability is not a concept; Bell explained it as a place the Europeans chose to live, work and nurture nature.

Carlos Moedas, Commissioner of Research, Science and Innovation, compared the BE potential to the introduction of lightbulb 139 years ago by Thomas Alva Edison. In the beginning, people were afraid of the revolutionary technology, so most of the population did not switch to the electric bulb until later on. Likewise, the BE potential is there but people cannot see it. This can be changed only if communication is done in a way that people understand, using storytelling and examples. Phil Hogan, Commissioner of Agriculture & Rural Development, referred to BE as not being “a pie in the sky”, as many successful examples already exist in Europe. BIOREGIO project also aims at promoting and sharing good examples and practices related to the bio-based circular economy. Concrete examples from different European regions are available from the project website, under the section Good Practices. (Interreg Europe 2018)

Another interesting comparison of BE is that of Anthony Luzzatto Gardner, the U.S. Ambassador to the European Union, who once stated: “The EU is like a window, you only realise that is there when there is a crack or dirt, but it always protects from the wind and the cold.”

During one of the panel discussions, Sveinn Margeirsson, CEO of Matis, pointed out the presence and use of plastic and glass water bottles during the event. He emphasized the need of courage to make a decision of no plastic bottles use and demonstrated it by throwing the plastic bottle away as better alternatives already exist.

Bio-based Products

BE is highly complex and touches many areas of our lives; the food we eat, products and energy we use, or clothes we wear. Therefore, bioeconomy and bio-based products are the tools to fight the climate change and dependency on fossil fuels. The challenge here is to let people see that these products are as good as or even better than the traditional ones. During the event, a bioeconomy corner was organised to showcase bio-based products, including compostable 3D printed cups and plates, cosmetics using insect protein, alternatives to plastic foil using beeswax wraps as well as clothes from coffee grounds.

Figures 2 and 3. Bio-based products displayed at the bioeconomy corner.

Conclusions

BE is the next economy the Europeans will have in the future; the European way as the title of the conference says. The updated strategy and the action plan can accelerate the BE development and a transition towards a circular and low-carbon economy. The huge BE potential can be unlocked only if everyone is on board and understand its benefits. BE touches everybody, everything and every day. Effective and clear communication is the key to nourish the collaborative spirit and together build the European sustainable future.

References

European Commission. 2017. Review of the 2012 European Bioeconomy Strategy. European Commission Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, Directorate F – Bioeconomy. Unit F.1 – Strategy. Luxembourg: Publication Office of the European Union. [Cited 05 Nov 2018]. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/research/bioeconomy/pdf/review_of_2012_eu_bes.pdf#view=fit&pagemode=none

European Commission. 2018. Sustainable and circular Bioeconomy, the European way. European Commission. Bioeconomy Conference, 22 October 2018, Brussel, Belgium. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/research/bioeconomy/index.cfm?pg=events&eventcode=A25347CB-B64A-387D-87DFA5040955E5F0

Interreg Europe. 2018. BIOREGIO Regional circular economy models and best available technologies for biological streams. [Cited 25 Nov 2018]. Available at: https://www.interregeurope.eu/bioregio/

Author

Katerina Medkova works as a Communication Manager of the BIOREGIO project at LAMK.

All photos by Katerina Medkova.

Published 3.12.2018

Reference to this publication

Medkova, K. 2018. Bioeconomy Revolution in Europe. LAMK Pro. [Cited and date of citation]. Available at: http://www.lamkpub.fi/2018/12/03/bioeconomy-revolution-in-europe/

After the industrial revolution, our economy and our environment has undergone tremendous changes. Consequently, we are facing challenges that drive us towards rethinking our ways of action. In this, developing circular economy provides a solution. This article presents a view on how South Korea is developing towards circular economy.

Authors: Seongreal Yun and Susanna Vanhamäki

Definition of circular economy

For a long time, our economy has followed a linear economy model, which means producing a product and throwing it away after use. Linear economy is also referred to as “take-make-use-dispose” (Lieder 2016). The last step is disposal, in other words, the product becomes waste. One of the traditional ways of handling waste has been landfilling. Landfilling has a direct impact on the environment as it contaminates the soil and e.g. toxic materials from the waste are absorbed to the ground water and pollute it.

Circular economy is a regenerative system were resource input and waste, as well as emissions and energy leakage are minimized by aiming towards closed material loops  (Yuan et al. 2006). Therefore, circular economy produces remarkably less waste than linear economy. The products can be restorative or regenerative thus the whole economy is able to be regenerative (Lieder 2016). If simplified, the “dispose” phase in linear economy would be replaced by “take” in circular economy. Eventually circular economy aims to remove non-recyclable waste and recycle the waste as a raw material. To develop circular economy long-lasting design, maintenance, reuse and recycling should be the basis (Ghisellini et al. 2016).

Circular economy in South Korea

Many countries are aiming to develop circular economy. According to OECD, South Korea had the second highest recycling rate country in OECD countries in 2013 (McCarthy 2016). Furthermore, the Korean ministry of environment (2017) has announced that it would enact the principle of resource circulation from 1.1.2018. According to the ministry, the resource circulation law includes parts like ‘circulation resource recognition’, ‘resource circulation performance management’, ‘cycle availability evaluation’ and ‘waste disposal fee’. It contains policies to reduce waste in all process like production, distribution, consumption and disposal of products and to promote recycling.

‘Resource circulation performance management’ will be enforced to plants that discharge designated waste over 100 tons or discharge other waste over 1,000 tons. It sets a customized goal for each plant for evaluating the circulation of materials and how much the plant needs to decrease waste. If a producer makes products which is hard to be recycled, ‘cycle availability evaluation’ would be applied to the situation. The policy requires the producer to reduce a material which cannot be recycled or make the product easier to recycle. An evaluation plan has to be made every three years continuously. If a plant is not making any improvement the situation will be revealed on internet. If a municipality or a producer landfill/incinerate waste, they have to pay ‘waste disposal fee’ which is 0.01-0.02 €/kg depending on the type of waste. Waste which is not harmful to the environment and is traded for a fee will be affirmed as a ‘circulation resource recognition’ if it satisfies standard regulations. Affirmed plants will be examined constantly if they fulfil the standard or not. (Korea ministry of environment 2017)

A Korean good practice in recycling

Repaper is a Korean company, which design and develop paper cups (Repaper 2018). Repaper invented a new paper cup which can be recycled in 2018. According to the Repaper website (2018), generally a paper cup isn’t biodegradable because it is coated with polyethylene which is plastic. Therefore, it can’t be recycled as paper or cardboard, nor composted. Paper cups cause a huge amount of non-recyclable waste. Repaper has developed a technology to coat the cup without plastic. This new paper cup has received several patents in e.g. South Korea, U.S.A and Europe. It is the world’s first food container made of paper to get a UL ECVP 2485, which is an Environmental Claim Validation Procedure for Recyclability of Paper-Based Products. It also has got a certification of DIN CERTCO which means it is compostable. In addition to the cup, the technology can be applied to the other disposable products. (Repaper 2018)

The innovative material in the cup is acrylate. Acrylate has hydrophobicity in normal circumstances, which can prevent water absorption to the paper. The coating can entirely dissociate and it has been proved that the cup can be recycled. The advantage of this cup is that it is also able to be used in microwave or oven. The cup can be recycled either as a paper or as a compostable product. (Lee 2018)

Conclusions

Even if the recycling rate in South Korea is high, it doesn’t mean that the Koreans live in a circular economy. To develop towards circular economy, South Korea should consider the concept in a holistic way. This includes developing circular design of products e.g. reducing the use of plastic and use more bio-degradable and bio-based products. Consumers are more and more interested in the types of materials than before and they are trying to find new eco-friendly products to use. The biodegradable paper cup of Repaper is a good example on the development. New similar innovations can be made to reach more circular solutions.

References

Ghisellini, P & Cialani, C & Ulgiati, S. 2016. A review on circular economy: the expected transition to a balanced interplay of environmental and economic systems. Journal of Cleaner Production. Vol.114(15), 11-32. [Cited 30 Oct 2018]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.09.007

Korea ministry of environment. 2017. Enforcement of the resource recycling law. [Cited 12 Oct 2018]. In Korean. Available at: http://www.me.go.kr/home/web/board/read.do?pagerOffset=0&maxPageItems=10&maxIndexPages=10&searchKey=title&searchValue=%EC%9E%90%EC%9B%90%EC%88%9C%ED%99%98%EB%B2%95&menuId=284&orgCd=&boardId=833270&boardMasterId=108&boardCategoryId=&decorator=

Lee, O.S. 2018. Repaper got credit for recyclable paper cup in Europe. Hankyung. [Cited 31 Oct 2018]. In Korean. Available at: http://news.hankyung.com/article/2018092682621

Lieder, M. 2016. Towards circular economy implementation: a comprehensive review in context of manufacturing industry. Cleaner Production. Vol.115, 36-51. [Cited 6 Nov 2018]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.12.042

McCarthy, N. 2016. The Countries Winning the Recycling Race. Forbes. [Cited 7 Nov 2018]. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2016/03/04/the-countries-winning-the-recycling-race-infographic/#41704cab2b3d

Repaper. 2018. rePAPER. [Cited 31 Oct 2018]. Available at: http://www.repaper.kr/index_en.php

Yuan, Z., Bi, J. & Moriguichi, Y. 2006. The circular economy: a new development strategy in China. Journal of Industrial Ecology. Vol.10 (1–2), 4-8. [Cited 6 Nov 2018]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1162/108819806775545321

Authors

Seongreal Yun is an exchange student in environmental technology at LAMK.

Susanna Vanhamäki is working as an RDI Specialist and is the Project Manager in the BIOREGIO project at LAMK.

Illustration: https://pixabay.com/en/julia-roberts-south-korea-flag-2639315/ (CC0)

Published 30.11.2018

 Reference to this publication

Yun, S. & Vanhamäki, S. 2018. An insight on Circular economy in South Korea. LAMK Pro. [Cited and date of citation]. Available at: http://www.lamkpub.fi/2018/11/30/an-insight-on-circular-economy-in-south-korea/

The wastewater treatment sector is under the challenge that are caused not only the global drivers (e.g., urbanization, climate change, aging population), but also the rapid development of the water management technology with the increased requisites for the water purification (e.g., micro-plastics, medical residues, etc.). IWAMA-project introduces capacity development activities and -tools for the wastewater treatment sector of the Baltic area to tackle these challenges.

Authors: Katerina Medkova and Sami Luste

Introduction

The lack of training, awareness and interactive international information share have been identified as one of the major limitations regarding the energy- and resource-efficient management of the wastewater processes in the Baltic Sea Region (E.g., PRESTO project 2011-2014; PURE project 2007-2013).

By increasing knowledge and providing up-to-date technical information, the efficiency of wastewater treatment plants, regarding both the energy savings and nutrient removal, can be noticeably improved. At the same time, continuous learning alongside with the technology development can lead to a better environmental state of the Baltic Sea.

IWAMA – Interactive Water Management project aims at improving wastewater management in the Baltic Sea Region (BSR). The triple fields of IWAMA activities include the capacity development of the wastewater treatment operators, improving the energy efficiency and sludge management.

LAMK is responsible for the Capacity Development for wastewater sector experts. Capacity development is also enabled through international onsite workshops and online webinars. During the capacity development workshops and webinars, the most recent knowledge on smart sludge and energy management is presented. An added value is brought by sharing the lessons learned from the pilot investments conducted in IWAMA. In addition, the formation of national knowledge-based communities (NKBC) of the lifelong learning in each partner country is enabled.

What has been done?

 All six workshops and four webinars have been organised on different themes (Figure 1). The onsite workshops consisted of topic related presentations, lectures, case studies, and dedicated neighbourhoods’ sessions. Site visits to the local WWTPs were an integral part of the international workshops held in different BSR countries. The content of the workshops have been continuously evaluated and developed and new elements have been added later on: panel discussions and suppliers orienteering sessions. The valuable and up-to-date presentations have been recorded for their later use in capacity development. Carefully selected presentations have been also transcribed with English subtitles and some of them translated into national languages, such as Finnish, German, Estonian, Russian and Lithuanian. At the same time, these events provided an opportunity for networking, gaining new information and continuous knowledge and experience exchange with other water stakeholders in the BSR.

Figure 1. IWAMA Workshops and Webinars Overview

These recorded presentations will be available in a Training Material Package (TMP), an online Moodle-based platform, built by LAMK, providing educational materials for WWT sector, associations, universities, NKBCs, or anyone interested in WWT. The TMP is under the development and the first testing of the elements has been conducted. Besides the presentations and recordings, other lifelong learning tools are being developed during the course of the project, such as the WWTP game (Image 1) and virtual learning tests.

Image 1. Screenshot of the WWTP game being developed by LAMK

The water-, waste and wastewater associations and universities (LAMK, ECAT-Lithuania, LNU, EVEL, DWA) have started to modify and fill the national sections of the online TMP, translate materials for WWTP game and virtual tests.

Insights from the WS6

The theme of the last international Capacity Development workshop was in the name of “Constructional and operational challenges” and it took place in Gdańsk, Poland on 20.-21.9.2018. The first day started with a visit to Kazimierz Water Tower, located on an island (Image 2). Besides the technological purpose of the modern tower, it serves as an educational centre.

Image 2. Kazimierz Water Tower (Photo by Katerina Medkova)

The second day was filled with presentations, discussions, case studies and targeted parallel sessions. Case studies presented solutions to personnel demand and management challenges in Germany, Finland, Estonia and Poland. For instance, Ms Sirpa Sandelin from Satakunta University of Applied Sciences, Finland, emphasized the importance of ageing personnel and diminishing workforce in wastewater treatment plants. Managing knowledge, especially the tacit knowledge and its transfer to new generation employees, is essential for water utilities. Knowledge management supports learning in organisations, as only 20 % is learned at schools. The majority of knowledge and skills (80%) is achieved at work through work experience and on-the-job training. Lifelong learning is seen as an investment for the future and a key in today’s competitive and fast-changing world. (Sandelin 2018) “Lifelong learning of the personnel should be seen as a responsibility of both the employer and the employee”, Ms Sandelin (2018) stated.

The last day took place in the premises of the Gdańsk wastewater treatment plant, where the theoretical presentations followed by a detailed visit of the large plant, including the plant, combined anammox- constructed wetland pilot-plant, and the incineration and CHP plants. A beautiful Hevelius Fountain Show ended the workshop.

Image 3. Gdańsk wastewater treatment plant (Photo by Katerina Medkova)

IWAMA, funded by INTERREG Baltic Sea Region Programme 2014-2020, is a flagship project of the European Union Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region. More information about IWAMA project is available at https://www.iwama.eu/.

References

IWAMA. 2017. About IWAMA. [Cited 10 Oct 2018]. Available at: https://www.iwama.eu/about

Sandelin, S. 2018. Knowledge Management and Retention in Finnish WWTPs.  IWAMA 6th Capacity Development Workshop. IWAMA. [Cited 10 Oct 2018]. Available at: http://www.iwama.eu/sites/iwama/files/8._knowledge_management_and_retention_in_finnish_wwtps_sandelin.pdf

Authors

Katerina Medkova and Sami Luste both work in the IWAMA project in LAMK.

Illustration:  Gdańsk wastewater treatment plant. Photo by Katerina Medkova.

Published 22.10.2018

Reference to this publication

Medkova, K. & Luste, S. 2018. IWAMA – Capacity Development Activities. LAMK Pro. [Cited and date of citation]. Available at: http://www.lamkpub.fi/2018/10/22/iwama-capacity-development-activities/