RE20147640 ART. THE LIMITS OF RECYCLING GIVEN A RISE IN THE DEMAND FOR RAW MATERIALS

Making the economy circular and making development sustainable take on meaning in the long run. Public policies will show interest in these actions only if the long-term effects are of potential significance for the well-being of people and the durability of the economy’s productive capacities. As an analysis of the flow of raw materials shows however, there is, in general, no sustainable management of these materials in a context of rising consumption. Beyond an annual growth of 1% in the consumption of a raw material, the recycling of nearly all wastes has very little effect on making resources (at the source) last and has little cumulative impact on the chain running from extraction to manufacturing. As a consequence, the key to a circular economy is the proportion of recycled materials in new products — not the proportion of wastes that are recycled.