Using real industry examples from his year’s of experience, Trewin Restorick, Founder of Hubbub and Sizzle, explains how it’s possible to mainstream the circular economy.
The Circular Economy is one of those topics frequently discussed by sustainability experts but largely unknown to the wider public and rarely in the news.
As the imperative to use resources efficiently grows, how can this important concept become an everyday activity?
This question is one I have sought to answer through a range of projects which have led me to the following conclusions.
Emotional connections
For many there is an understandable stigma attached to second-hand items even if they are of high quality.
At Hubbub, we sought to overcome this perception through a campaign called “One Mother to Another”.
We were aware that many people kept high quality baby clothing even though it had been outgrown because they had an emotional attachment having seen their child in the clothing.
Our campaign encouraged parents to join with others to create gift bags of this clothing that could be handed out to local families on Mother’s Day.
Donating families were encouraged to write short messages sharing the joy they had in seeing their child in the piece of clothing and hoping that another parent would have similar memories.
This emotional connection helped to personalise the transaction turning it from a donation to a gift lovingly given.
Local social benefits
Inevitably, the act of reuse or sharing requires a little extra effort and people need to feel that the time they are spending is beneficial.
Two Hubbub campaigns revealed the motivational impact of providing local social benefits.
Community Calling encouraged people to donate unused smartphones which could be cleaned and offered to people with no access to the internet helping them to connect with friends, seek work and get access to a range of services.
Community Fridges ensured fresh food that would have been wasted could be freely distributed to local households.
Consistency
One of the challenges of relying on waste streams is getting the consistency and scale of material required to deliver a high-quality product.
This is a challenge we are addressing through the Enrich the Earth campaign where we are seeking to create an effective, consistent and affordable replacement material for peat, helping to protect this crucially important natural asset.
Waste materials such as green waste, wood chippings and many others can be part of the peat replacement mix but their quality varies across the seasons and due to contamination.
It has been a time-consuming process sourcing a consistent supply of the materials we require including working with local authorities to reduce contamination levels, but our trials indicate that we have found a successful mix and are now seeking to launch a new circular economy business in horticulture.
Convenience
One of the major barriers to circular economy initiatives is how to make them convenient and part of everyday routine.
Running small-scale trials has made convenience a difficult challenge as they haven’t been able to create a wider-scale systemic change which would make it easier to fit with people’s daily habits.
Indications are that this barrier is starting to be overcome. Initiatives run by companies, such as Ocado and Abel and Cole, are embedding refill into the shopping experience and are proving popular.
There is also impetus behind city-wide campaigns which allow a range of circular economy activities to become better coordinated.
Incentives
Financial incentives promoting reuse can have an immediate impact. A good example is Starbuck’s voluntary introduction of a 5p charge on disposable cups alongside a discount for reusable cups. This change immediately doubled the move to reusable.
It is interesting however, that reusable cup use is still a relatively low percentage partly because customers are not in the habit of using them or find it inconvenient carrying around a dirty cup once it has been used.
Policy
Overcoming the above challenges can go a long way in taking circular economy initiatives into the mainstream but none will scale without a supportive regulatory structure. Creating these structures is complex and requires a range of levers to be pulled.
In our efforts to replace peat with sustainable alternatives we have worked with a range of stakeholders to identify three policy barriers that need to be removed and have appointed a public affairs consultancy to bring these to the attention of the new government.
Getting to this stage has required extensive consultation and the goodwill of an external benefactor. Success is far from guaranteed but, if achieved, will shift the financial model in favour of more circular solutions.
Over the past decade there have been numerous initiatives such as those described above seeking to create a more circular economy. All of them have helped to build greater understanding and have started to illustrate what can be achieved.
The challenge is to build on this learning and take things to scale. The signs are encouraging and hopefully circularity will become understood by many as a viable alternative to the throwaway society.
