How the marriage of Industry 4.0 and the Circular Economy can radically transform waste management - and our world
Do we really have to make a choice between a wasteless and nonproductive world or a wasteful and ultimately self-destructive one? Futurist and world-renowned waste management scientist Antonis Mavropoulos and sustainable business developer and digital strategist Anders Nilsen respond with a ringing and optimistic “No!” They explore the Earth-changing potential of a happy (and wasteless) marriage between Industry 4.0 and a Circular Economy that could - with properly reshaped waste management practices - deliver transformative environmental, health, and societal benefits. This book is about the possibility of a brand-new world and the challenges to achieve it.
The fourth industrial revolution has given us innovations including robotics, artificial intelligence, 3D-printing, and biotech. By using these technologies to advance the Circular Economy - where industry produces more durable materials and runs on its own byproducts - the waste management industry will become a central element of a more sustainable world and can ensure its own, but well beyond business as usual, future. Mavropoulos and Nilsen look at how this can be achieved - a wasteless world will require more waste management - and examine obstacles and opportunities such as demographics, urbanization, global warming, and the environmental strain caused by the rise of the global middle class.
· Explore the new prevention, reduction, and elimination methods transforming waste management
· Comprehend and capitalize on the business implications for the sector
· Understand the theory via practical examples and case studies
· Appreciate the social benefits of the new approach
Waste-management has always been vital for the protection of health and the environment. Now it can become a crucial role model in showing how Industry 4.0 and the Circular Economy can converge to ensure flourishing, sustainable - and much brighter - future.
Table of Contents
Foreword 1 xi
Foreword 2 xiii
Foreword 3 xvii
Series Preface xxi
Preface xxiii
About the Authors xxv
About the Graphic Designer xxvii
Endorsements xxix
Glossary xxxiii
List of Acronyms xxxix
Chapter 1: The End of Business as Usual 1
1.1 The Trillion-Dollar Question 2
1.2 The Future is Warmer, Urbanized, Polluted, and Resource-Hungry 3
1.3 It Can’t Happen Again 9
1.4 It’s About People, Not Waste 12
1.5 About This Book 15
References 18
Chapter 2: Understanding Industry 4.0 23
2.1 The Four Industrial Revolutions 24
2.1.1 The First Industrial Revolution 25
2.1.2 The Second Industrial Revolution 27
2.1.3 The Third Industrial Revolution 30
2.1.4 The Fourth Industrial Revolution 34
2.2 Industry 4.0 36
2.2.1 The Technologies that Drive the Revolution 38
2.2.1.1 Internet of Things 40
2.2.1.2 Artificial Intelligence (AI) 40
2.2.1.3 Machine Learning (ML) 40
2.2.1.4 Autonomous Robots 40
2.2.1.5 Virtual Simulators 40
2.2.1.6 New Human-Machine Interfaces 41
2.2.1.7 Encryption and Cybersecurity 41
2.2.1.8 Cloud and APIs 41
2.2.1.9 Additive Manufacturing 41
2.2.1.10 Blockchain 41
2.2.1.11 Advanced Materials 42
2.2.2 What Changes Can Industry 4.0 Enable? 43
2.2.2.1 Responsive and Flexible Production Systems 44
2.2.2.2 Integrated Ecosystems 44
2.2.2.3 Engineering for Life Cycle Throughout the Entire Value Chain 44
2.2.2.4 Acceleration by the Use of Exponential Technologies 44
2.2.3 Important Concepts in Industry 4.0 Systems 45
2.2.3.1 Predictive Maintenance 45
2.2.3.2 Digital Twins 46
2.2.3.3 Smart Factories 46
2.2.3.4 Industrial Symbiosis 46
2.2.3.5 Lights-Out Manufacturing 46
2.2.3.6 Edge Computing 47
2.2.4 Revolution or Evolution? 47
2.3 More with Less and the Rebound Effect 49
2.4 Radical Solutions to Difficult Problems 52
2.4.1 Transforming Business Models 53
2.4.2 Creating Collaborative Ecosystems 54
2.4.3 Killer Apps of the Industry 4.0 55
References 57
Chapter 3: Un(mis)understanding Circular Economy 61
3.1 A Global Trend 62
3.1.1 China and EU Are Leading the Way 62
3.1.2 Other Government Initiatives 64
3.1.3 Private Sector Initiatives 66
3.1.4 Why Now? 66
3.2 Circular Economy Comes from Our Past 69
3.2.1 The Post-World War II Acceleration 71
3.2.2 Industrialization Stimulated the Linearization of the Economy 72
3.3 What is a Circular Economy? 74
3.3.1 Hundred Fourteen Answers for One Question 77
3.4 From Good Intentions to Science 80
3.4.1 We Live in a “Full” World 82
3.4.2 Thermodynamics Are Fundamental 85
3.5 Circularity is not Sustainability 87
3.5.1 Anthropogenic Stocks Are Ignored but Rapidly Growing 90
3.5.2 What Can We Really Achieve Advancing Circular Economy? 92
3.6 The Butterfly Effect 93
3.6.1 How About Composite Materials? 96
3.6.2 The Importance of the System’s Boundaries 96
3.7 The End of Growth as We Know It 99
3.7.1 The End of “Green Growth” 101
3.7.2 IND4.0 and the Religion of Continuous Growth 102
3.8 Circular Economy for Whom? 104
3.8.1 The Social Footprint of Circular Economy is Shaped by Corporate Interests 106
3.8.2 Time to Rethink Governance 111
3.9 It’s Huge, Systemic, Uncertain but Urgently Needed 114
References 118
Chapter 4: Redefining Resources and Waste 125
4.1 IND4.0 Redefines Resources 126
4.1.1 The Energy Footprint of Digitalization 127
4.1.2 Metals Are Key for IND4.0 129
4.1.3 More Food and More Water 131
4.2 Redefining the Term “Waste” 132
4.2.1 A Brief Historical Overview 133
4.2.2 Future Waste Streams 136
4.2.3 Anthropogenic Stocks 136
4.2.4 Food Waste 139
4.2.5 Plastics 140
4.2.6 E-Waste 144
4.2.7 Other Important Waste Streams 146
4.3 Waste Hierarchy: Upgraded or Obsolete? 147
4.3.1 Critiques About Waste Hierarchy 151
4.3.2 Looking for More Systemic and Complex Tools 154
4.3.3 Looking for Alternatives to Waste Hierarchy 158
4.4 Sorry, Recycling is Not Circular Economy 160
4.4.1 Weight-Based Targets Are Misleading 161
4.4.2 Searching for New Metrics 163
4.4.3 Losing My (Recycling) Religion 165
4.4.4 Why Do We Recycle? Service vs. Value Chain 167
4.4.5 Usual Misconceptions About Recycling 170
4.5 Waste Management Goes Beyond Waste 173
4.5.1 Complexity and Uncertainties Become the New Normal 178
4.6 Final Sinks During the Anthropocene 181
4.6.1 Chemical Pollution is a Serious Threat 183
4.6.2 Clean Material Cycles in Circular Economy Require More Final Finks 186
4.6.3 Circular Economy Needs More and Better Waste Management 188
4.6.4 Waste to Energy in Circular Economy 190
4.6.5 Sanitary Landfills in Circular Economy 191
4.7 Circularities for Materials-Linearities for People 193
References 200
Chapter 5: Waste Management 4.0 213
5.1 Perceptions and Reality 214
5.1.1 Expectations for Industry 4.0 214
5.1.2 The Hype and the Surprise 215
5.1.3 Dilemmas Facing Waste Management 218
5.1.4 An Ongoing Transformation 219
5.2 Hardware in Waste Management 221
5.2.1 The Connected Devices of Waste Management 222
5.2.1.1 Smartphones 222
5.2.1.2 Connected Weights 223
5.2.1.3 Container Level Sensors 223
5.2.1.4 RFID Bin Tags and Scanners 223
5.2.1.5 Smart Locks 224
5.2.1.6 GPS Trackers 224
5.2.1.7 Material Scanners 224
5.2.1.8 Industrial Robots 225
5.2.1.9 Screening Machines 225
5.2.2 Integrated Hardware Systems 226
5.2.2.1 Reverse Vending Machines 227
5.2.2.2 Underground Container Systems 227
5.2.2.3 Automated Vacuum Collection (AVAC) 227
5.2.2.4 Automated Waste Sorting Plants 228
5.3 Software in Waste Management 229
5.3.1 The Changing Landscape of Software Development 229
5.3.1.1 From Servers to Cloud 229
5.3.1.2 From Files to APIs 229
5.3.1.3 From Monoliths to Modules 230
5.3.1.4 From Centralized to Distributed Architecture 230
5.3.1.5 From Reactive to Predictive Software 230
5.3.2 Current Software in Waste Management 231
5.3.2.1 ERP Systems 231
5.3.2.2 Customer Management Systems 231
5.3.2.3 Project Management Software (PMS) 231
5.3.2.4 Data Lakes and Data Warehouses 232
5.3.2.5 Fleet Management Systems 232
5.3.2.6 Route Planning Software 232
5.3.2.7 Field Reporting Software 232
5.3.2.8 Customer Apps 233
5.3.2.9 Marketplace Software 233
5.3.3 Dealing with Complexity and Creating Higher-Level Systems 233
5.3.3.1 Connectivity/ Integration Platforms 234
5.3.3.2 Cloud Communications Platforms 234
5.3.3.3 Smart Contract Frameworks 236
5.3.3.4 Code Repositories 237
5.4 Selected Case Studies 237
5.4.1 Developing a Platform to Simplify Access Management Across Different Technical Solutions 237
5.4.2 Using Bin Sensors to Decrease Overflowing Trash Cans with 80% 239
5.4.3 Creating Symbiosis-Like Industrial Parks to Curb Emissions and Increase Resource Productivity 240
5.4.4 Enabling a Fully Automated Waste Processing Facility 241
5.5 The Value of Openness 243
References 246
Chapter 6: Towards the Digitalization of the Waste Industry 251
6.1 From Waste Management to Resource Innovation 252
6.1.1 A Fundamental Shift 253
6.1.2 Risks and Challenges 255
6.1.3 From Specific to Holistic Problem Solving 256
6.2 Leadership and Management 257
6.2.1 Long-Term Vision or Short-Term Pragmatism? 260
6.2.2 Leadership Styles and Strategies 262
6.2.3 Choosing the Right Innovation Methodology 263
6.2.3.1 Design Thinking 264
6.2.3.2 Lean Start-Up 265
6.2.3.3 Agile 265
6.2.4 Building Industrial Ecosystems 267
6.2.5 Dealing with Complexity 268
6.2.6 Political Leadership 269
6.3 Exploration Versus Exploitation 272
6.3.1 Playing with Both Hands 272
6.3.2 The Three Types of Innovation 273
6.3.3 Resource Optimization: The Forgotten Perspective 274
6.4 From Digitalization to New Business Models 275
6.4.1 Sustainability as a Driver of Value 276
6.4.2 The Elements of a Business Model 279
6.4.3 Business Model Experiments: The RESTART Approach 281
6.5 Democratizing Technology 284
6.5.1 The Benefits of Openness 284
6.5.2 Creating and Promoting Shared Standards 286
6.5.3 Global Collaboration for the Common Good? 287
References 290
Chapter 7: The Rise of a New Science 295
7.1 The Rise of Urban Informatics 296
7.1.1 New Answers to Old Questions, but Not for Free 298
7.1.2 Citizens’ Engagement 300
7.1.3 More Challenges 301
7.2 Islands of Information in Oceans of Big Data 303
7.2.1 Understanding Cities 303
7.2.2 Understanding Supply Chains 305
7.2.3 Understanding Waste Management 305
7.2.4 Mobile Phones Are the Key to Create New Big Data Sets 307
7.2.5 Predicting Pandemics 311
7.3 The Dark Side of the Moon 311
7.3.1 Surveillance Capitalism? 313
7.4 From Cities as Machines to Cities as Organisms 315
7.4.1 Urban Theories and the Role of Scaling 316
7.4.2 From Urban Scaling to Urban Sustainability 318
7.4.3 Big Data Meets the New Urban Science 320
7.5 Circular Economy: Digitized or Dead 323
References 327
Chapter 8: Stairway to Heaven or Highway to Hell? 333
8.1 Circular Economy or Space Race? 336
8.2 Circular Economy and IND4.0 as Essentially Contested Concepts 339
8.3 Squeezing IND4.0 - Undermining Circular Economy 341
8.4 Governance is the Key - Cities are the Lock 346
8.5 Beyond Business as Usual Optimization 352
8.6 Environmental Incrementalism? No, Thanks 354
8.7 IND4.0 Meets the Horse Manure Crisis 358
8.8 No Sanitation = No Sustainability 361
8.9 Ask Sisyphus the Trillion-Dollar Question 363
References 367
Epilogue: The Future Starts with You 373
Epilogue: Towards Irreversible Wastelands 375
Index 379
