Circular Economy

The current linear “take-make-dispose” economy presupposes that resources are easily accessible and unlimited. Availability of resources is an important strategic economic issue while concerns about adverse  environmental impacts are growing worldwide. To properly address these issues, a reduction in the use of resources per unit of manufacturing output is not enough because it is not possible to modify the finite nature of their stocks. Therefore in order to sustain the current quality of life for the global population under contemporary technology it is necessary to move towards an industrial model that decouples economic growth from material input, by using waste and bio-feedstock as inputs for industry: the circular economy. Circular Economy models maintain the added value in products for as long as possible and minimize waste. Therefore, in order to reduce the depletion of raw materials and to improve the efficiency of consumption while reducing wastes, we are pursuing the following two main research topics: