LINEAR AND
HOW DOES OUR CURRENT ECONOMY WORK?
We currently live in a linear economy: we make a product, use it and then throw it away.If things go on like this, Earth will eventually run out of resources and be covered with waste instead.
WHAT IS A CIRCULAR ECONOMY AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
In a circular economy: we make a product and use it. When we are finished with it, we transform it into another product, repair it or make use of the waste and by-products created during the production process. This cycle may go on endlessly, as we reuse part of the resources and reduce waste production.
HOW DOES A CIRCULAR ECONOMY WORK IN PRACTICE?
For example, we make a product in such a way that, at the end of its lifecycle, it can be easily separated into each of its component materials. These can then be reused to make other products. This means that we don’t need to use new natural resources so much. In today’s economy, we buy a product and when it breaks, wears out or gets old, we throw it away. If we go on like this, we will eventually throw away all our natural resources.
In a circular economy, the broken product is sent to a factory or repair shop for fixing or upgrading. If it can’t be repaired, it will be broken down into its components and transformed into other products.
Any waste or by-products generated during product manufacture can be used as raw materials for other industries, processes or products, thereby saving natural resources!
If you think about it, there are many products we don’t even need to but certain, we could just rent or share them.
LINEAR ECONOMY
CIRCULAR ECONOMY
INTERESTING FACTS
Paper industry
The paper and pulp industry is important to the Portuguese economy. Forest industries make up 10.3% of exports. Most of this, 5.7%, comes from the pulp and paper industry.
Portugal is Europe’s leader in this field and accounts for 60% of office paper exports from Europe to the rest of the world.
70% of the energy used in Portugal’s paper industry comes from renewable energy (biomass). This is much higher than the European average (54%).
Forest
Forest covers around 40% of Portugal’s land area.
The forest industry involves around 400,000 landowners and employs over 100,000 people.
Forests are the habitat for 80% of our terrestrial biodiversity.
PAPER AND RECYCLING
Paper is a natural resource that is recyclable and biodegradable.
Used paper may be recycled from 3 to 5 times.
Paper is Europe’s most recycled product (72%).
THE CIRCULARITY OF PAPER
Paper is a natural, recyclable and biodegradable product. It is made from wood, a renewable raw material harvested from forests planted according to natural cycles.
The nutrients in the soil, along with solar energy and carbon absorbed through photosynthesis, make trees grow. Trees are transformed into paper, which is used and can then be recycled or biodegraded a number of times.
Watch how paper circularity works
PLANTATIONS
Trees are planted so that one day they may be harvested and used by the pulp and paper industry.
Forest plantations are sustainably managed and new forests are always planted in place of the old, to ensure biodiversity and to prevent forest fires.
TRANSPORT
Trees are harvested in a responsible manner to ensure the right balance of harvesting and (re)planting. The felled trees are taken to the factory.
FACTORY
Tree trunks are shredded into small chips which are then cooked to make paper pulp.
The pulp is placed in the machine together with other products, to make a paper sheet that is rolled onto a spool (paper recovered through recycling may be introduced at this stage). Finally, the paper is cut into different sizes and shapes, depending on what it is going to be used for.
CIRCULARITY OF THE PAPER INDUSTRY
The pulp and paper industry is an example of the circular economy because it reuses its resources (e.g. water and production by-products) in continuous cycles and circuits that recover a substantial part of the waste. Biomass (e.g. eucalyptus bark) and other by-products from the paper industry are also used to produce green electricity.
INDUSTRIAL SYMBIOSES
Waste from one industry can be used by others, which cuts the need for new raw materials and creates new business opportunities. We call this process industrial symbiosis.
The various stages in paper and pulp production generate forest biomass such, as tree bark, sludge, ashes and sand. These can be reused as raw materials in the same factory or by other industries (e.g. construction, agriculture).
USE
Paper or cardboard may be used for notebooks, books, letters, newspapers, magazines, movie tickets, shopping bags, toilet paper, paper tissues, napkins, egg cartons and other packages.
All these products are obtained from trees that we plant and replant!
COLLECTION AND RECYCLING
Used paper is collected, sorted and transformed so that it may be used again at the factory to make new paper. As the fibres in paper gradually deteriorate and become weaker each time it is recycled, new paper pulp fibres must be added to keep the cycle going and ensure the recycled paper is as good as it needs to be. Everything comes from the forest!
RECYCLING
If placed in the correct recycling bin (paper), used paper can be given new life as something else.
We can’t turn used paper into new paper forever since the quality diminishes each time it is processed, but we can still recycle it several times. New paper pulp (virgin fibres) is added to old paper when making new paper.
The used paper may be recycled from 3 to 5 times, in a process known as cascade recycling: recycled paper; magazines; cardboard; corrugated base paper; moulded fibre (e.g. egg cartons).
What cannot be recycled?
Hand towels, napkins, disposable diapers and food-wrapping paper, amongst others.
THE IMPORTANCE
OF FORESTS
There are different types of forests, including natural forests and plantations. All of these are very important and complement each other.
ENVIRONMENTAL FUNCTIONS
Production of oxygen and removal of carbon dioxide
Forests purify the air through photosynthesis, by retaining and absorbing the carbon and releasing oxygen into the atmosphere.
Improved water infiltration and soil absorption
Forests improve rainwater infiltration, thus preventing floods. They protect against soil erosion caused by rain and wind.
Shelter for biodiversity
Over half of all the animals on Earth live in forests.
Climate regulation
Forests help to maintain a balanced climate and to diminish the effects of climate change.
Socioeconomic functions
ENERGY PRODUCTION
Forests are an important source of energy. Wood and forest waste can be used as biomass for producing energy.
SUPPLY OF RAW MATERIALS
Various forest products are used as raw materials in construction (wood, cork, resin) and by various industries, including the pharmaceutical industry (medicinal plants) and the paper industry (paper pulp).
LANDSCAPE AND RECREATIONAL VALUE
The forest landscape is attractive for tourism and leisure activities. Globally, ecotourism generates nearly early 60 billion euros per year.
JOB CREATION AND INCREASED TRADE
The forest sector employees over 13 million people worldwide. Nearly 1% of the world’s GDP comes from the trade in forest products.
FOOD PRODUCTION
Each year, forests provide some 11 kg of food for each of the planet’s inhabitants (chestnuts, pine nuts, mushrooms, etc.).
SUSTAINABLE FOREST
MANAGEMENT
Worldwide demand for forest-based products is Increasing. It is forecast that annual demand for Wood will triple by 2050, to more than 10,000,000,000 m3.
Read more
Wood is a natural and biodegradable product. However, to ensure sustainable use of this resource, we must manage our forests and their resources responsibly.
Sustainable forest management means managing and using forests in a way and at a rate that preserves their biodiversity, productivity, regenerative capacity and vitality. It also means ensuring that, now and in the future, they can fulfil their ecological, economic and social functions at the local, national and global level, without causing damage to other ecosystems.
How do we know which products come from sustainably managed forests?
Simply look for the right certification on product labels.
In Portugal, eucalyptus plantations under the care of the pulp and paper industry are sustainably managed in compliance with strict international forest certification requirements known as FSC® (Forest Stewardship Council®) and PEFC (™) (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes).
AND WHAT IS OUR ROLE?
Circular News
The 360 Mission is back
The 360 Mission is back, and we’d love to have you with us for another school year. Together, we will promote concepts related to the circular economy and other environmental topics.
26 September, 2024
The 7th edition of Mission 360 is about to begin
Hello Earthlings! The 7th edition of Mission 360 is about to begin! Mission 360 brings topics to schools such as sustainable forest management, best practices in Circular Economy, and Biopro
11 September, 2024
THE 6TH EDITION OF MISSION 360 HAS COME TO AN END
We already have the winners of the 6th edition of Mission 360. Congratulations earthlings! Check the winners of another edition of Mission 360 here.
26 July, 2024
