The last two centuries have been characterized by intensive exploitation of natural resources, resulting in significant changes in both natural and anthropogenic material flows. The need for developing and implementing a circular economy has arisen due to the excessive consumption of material goods in modern societies, coupled with waste generation, climate change, and detrimental environmental emissions. The circular economy (CE), serving as a foundation for the economy of the future, promotes responsible behavior towards secondary resources, advocating for environmental preservation while still maintaining the benefits of modern civilization. While these ideas and principles sound inspiring, the question remains: Is it genuinely possible to achieve such a balance, and under what conditions?
August Wilhelm von Hofmann, the first president of the Royal Society of Chemistry and a pioneer of the circular economy, stated in 1848: “In an ideal chemical factory, there is no waste—only products. The better a factory utilizes its waste, the closer it is to its goal—greater profit.” Today, even though the circular economy is recognized as the foundation of sustainable development, we remain far from Hofmann’s ideal. Furthermore, our task is even more complex, as we must optimize individual industrial processes and the entire anthropogenic metabolism, incorporating all economic and industrial sectors, consumers, and households.
A declarative commitment to the principles of the circular economy has become highly attractive—not only for the economy and industry but also for environmental protection. The Circular Economy Development Program of the Republic of Serbia for the period 2022–2024 establishes a legal framework aimed at creating an environment in which resources are used efficiently, environmental pressure is reduced, and economic development continues. The document Roadmap for Circular Economy in Serbia describes the circular economy as an industrial model focused on resource regeneration and waste reduction. The core idea of this approach is that waste does not exist—every waste material has the potential for reuse and must be fully utilized.
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Although this concept encourages a positive transformation of production processes, the question remains: How feasible is this approach in modern societies facing overconsumption (the very foundation of economic growth), increasing product complexity, waste challenges, and infrastructure limitations? It is essential to highlight that reducing environmental pressure while fostering economic development simultaneously remains one of the most significant challenges of contemporary societies!
This very challenge necessitates the definition and positioning of the role of waste management in the modern economy. Although in recent years, waste management goals have not been given much significance or discussed within professional and academic circles in Serbia, they have already been elaborated on in the public sphere. The anthroposphere consumes large quantities of materials, accumulates part of these materials in infrastructure over long periods, and generates significant amounts of waste daily. Efficient waste management is crucial for adequately addressing all outputs of the anthroposphere. These outputs, which may have been produced 10 or even 100 years ago, may contain legacy substances that are either currently unusable or banned due to toxicity or hazardous characteristics, such as mercury, lead, asbestos, cadmium, or brominated flame retardants (BFRs). These substances must be managed to prevent contamination of the circular economy. For this reason, the problem of waste and its management, treatment, disposal, and reuse as a secondary resource cannot and must not be viewed solely in terms of mass; instead, its chemical composition and hazardous substance content must also be considered. In the circular economy, waste containing hazardous substances must be purified (detoxified) before recycling, which is sometimes impossible or extremely costly. Moreover, new consumer products with complex chemical compositions appear every year, some of which may contain newly identified hazardous substances. These substances, together with legacy contaminants, pose a challenge to waste management systems and circular economy concepts.
Nemanja Stanisavljević
The story was published in the Energy portal Magazine CIRCULAR ECONOMY
