Implementing circular economy: evaluation of implications related to an innovative waste-to-resource management scenario

Circular Economy (CE) is gaining attention among practitioners and institutions for its potential to increase the eco-performance of production and consumption systems and as a means to reach sustainable development. It intends to recover and valorize waste and residue adding value to these materials while keeping them within society. However, so far, a comprehensive and exhaustive methodology for measuring CE transition and progress towards the achievement of sustainability principles is still lacking. This work presents a preliminary investigation of the consequences of CE implementation in a case study of the manufacturing industry. Spent Bleaching Earth (SBE) is a production residue of vegetable oil refining and, due to the oil therein contained, raises several issues during disposal. It is generally considered a nuisance, a waste, and disposed of at high costs. The company Sfridoo S.r.l. is committed to residue valorization and, in 2020, has implemented an industrial symbiosis match for SBE alternative management that involves its reuse as a by-product in brick manufacturing. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Circular Indicators have been applied to assess and compare a business-as-usual approach and a CE-oriented strategy for SBE management. It was shown that the carbon footprint of 1 ton of SBE following a circular approach might overcome that of a traditional scenario, but this depends on specific conditions and is mainly related to transport and avoided impacts associated with recovered products. Despite that, economic benefits of SBE conversion from waste-to-resource are impressive and savings estimated at around thousands of euros yearly. Resource scarcity is also positively influenced and total waste generated of the system is reduced by about 20%. This research shows that SBE repurposing in the ceramic industry represents a suitable strategy for executing CE at the industrial level and the methods applied a possible approach to address CE implementation.