Laboratory of Chemical Engineering and Engineering Sustainability, Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences, Open University of Cyprus, Latsia, Nicosia, Cyprus.
Waste Management Laboratory, Department of the Environment, University of the Aegean, Mytilene, Greece.
Waste Manag Res. 2023 Dec;41(12):1741-1753. doi: 10.1177/0734242X231190794. Epub 2023 Aug 21.
There are several sustainability issues that the linear economy of today's society cannot adequately tackle (i.e. resource depletion, waste treatment, etc.). As a result, the scientific community and policymakers give high priority to the implementation of the circular economy concept. The sustainable development goals of the United Nations are in line with the European Union's (EU) commitment to a smooth transition to a circular economy. Circular business models require a shift in technical elements involving R strategies to replace traditional business models (i.e. reuse, reduce, recycle, etc.). Monitoring circular economy to provide quantifiable, measurable data is necessary for a successful transition. Monitoring tools (i.e. Key Performance Indicators, quality protocols) enable decision-makers to measure circular economy performance and identify circularity's advantages and disadvantages. To stimulate the adoption of a circularity model addressing critical issues of excessive waste production and resource use, this mini review aims to address the literature gap of waste metrics in the framework of circular economy and offer insights on circular economy indicators to aid for a seamless transition to a more sustainable society. For this purpose, Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis method was chosen to assess literature. The authors collected and analysed data from 101 records, 70 articles and 31 reports related to the topic under consideration. Through the literature review, it is obvious that moving away from linear production model frequently leads to the development of new internal capabilities along the value chain and, eventually, high efficiency that reduces costs, increasing productivity, encourages brand names, minimizes threats, creates new products and fulfils regulations and green consumer expectations.
当今社会的线性经济存在若干无法有效应对的可持续性问题（例如资源枯竭、废物处理等）。因此，科学界和政策制定者高度重视实施循环经济理念。联合国的可持续发展目标与欧盟向循环经济平稳过渡的承诺相一致。循环商业模式需要技术要素的转变，涉及 R 策略以取代传统商业模式（即再利用、减少、回收等）。监测循环经济以提供可量化、可衡量的数据对于成功转型是必要的。监测工具（例如关键绩效指标、质量协议）使决策者能够衡量循环经济绩效并识别循环经济的优势和劣势。为了解决过度废物产生和资源利用等关键问题，采用循环模式，本文旨在填补循环经济框架中废物指标的文献空白，并提供循环经济指标的见解，以促进向更可持续社会的顺利过渡。为此，选择了系统评价和荟萃分析方法的首选报告项目来评估文献。作者从 101 条记录、70 篇文章和 31 份报告中收集和分析了与主题相关的数据。通过文献综述，显然，从线性生产模式转变经常会导致价值链上新的内部能力的发展，最终实现高效率，降低成本、提高生产力、鼓励品牌、最大限度地减少威胁、创造新产品并满足法规和绿色消费者的期望。
