Industry 4.0 and Circular Economy - Towards a Wasteless Future Or a Wasteful Planet?

How the marriage of Industry 4.0 and the Circular Economy can radically transform waste management--and our world
 
Do we really have to make a choice between a wasteless and nonproductive world or a wasteful and ultimately self-destructive one? Futurist and world-renowned waste management scientist Antonis Mavropoulos and sustainable business developer and digital strategist Anders Nilsen respond with a ringing and optimistic "No!" They explore the Earth-changing potential of a happy (and wasteless) marriage between Industry 4.0 and a Circular Economy that could--with properly reshaped waste management practices--deliver transformative environmental, health, and societal benefits. This book is about the possibility of a brand-new world and the challenges to achieve it.
 
The fourth industrial revolution has given us innovations including robotics, artificial intelligence, 3D-printing, and biotech. By using these technologies to advance the Circular Economy--where industry produces more durable materials and runs on its own byproducts--the waste management industry will become a central element of a more sustainable world and can ensure its own, but well beyond business as usual, future. Mavropoulos and Nilsen look at how this can be achieved--a wasteless world will require more waste management--and examine obstacles and opportunities such as demographics, urbanization, global warming, and the environmental strain caused by the rise of the global middle class.
 
* Explore the new prevention, reduction, and elimination methods transforming waste management
 
* Comprehend and capitalize on the business implications for the sector
 
* Understand the theory via practical examples and case studies
 
* Appreciate the social benefits of the new approach
 
Waste-management has always been vital for the protection of health and the environment. Now it can become a crucial role model in showing how Industry 4.0 and the Circular Economy can converge to ensure flourishing, sustainable--and much brighter--future.

List of contents

Foreword 1 xi
 
Foreword 2 xiii
 
Foreword 3 xvii
 
Series Preface xxi
 
Preface xxiii
 
About the Authors xxv
 
About the Graphic Designer xxvii
 
Endorsements xxix
 
Glossary xxxiii
 
List of Acronyms xxxix
 
Chapter 1: The End of Business as Usual 1
 
1.1 The Trillion-Dollar Question 2
 
1.2 The Future is Warmer, Urbanized, Polluted, and Resource-Hungry 3
 
1.3 It Can't Happen Again 9
 
1.4 It's About People, Not Waste 12
 
1.5 About This Book 15
 
References 18
 
Chapter 2: Understanding Industry 4.0 23
 
2.1 The Four Industrial Revolutions 24
 
2.1.1 The First Industrial Revolution 25
 
2.1.2 The Second Industrial Revolution 27
 
2.1.3 The Third Industrial Revolution 30
 
2.1.4 The Fourth Industrial Revolution 34
 
2.2 Industry 4.0 36
 
2.2.1 The Technologies that Drive the Revolution 38
 
2.2.1.1 Internet of Things 40
 
2.2.1.2 Artificial Intelligence (AI) 40
 
2.2.1.3 Machine Learning (ML) 40
 
2.2.1.4 Autonomous Robots 40
 
2.2.1.5 Virtual Simulators 40
 
2.2.1.6 New Human-Machine Interfaces 41
 
2.2.1.7 Encryption and Cybersecurity 41
 
2.2.1.8 Cloud and APIs 41
 
2.2.1.9 Additive Manufacturing 41
 
2.2.1.10 Blockchain 41
 
2.2.1.11 Advanced Materials 42
 
2.2.2 What Changes Can Industry 4.0 Enable? 43
 
2.2.2.1 Responsive and Flexible Production Systems 44
 
2.2.2.2 Integrated Ecosystems 44
 
2.2.2.3 Engineering for Life Cycle Throughout the Entire Value Chain 44
 
2.2.2.4 Acceleration by the Use of Exponential Technologies 44
 
2.2.3 Important Concepts in Industry 4.0 Systems 45
 
2.2.3.1 Predictive Maintenance 45
 
2.2.3.2 Digital Twins 46
 
2.2.3.3 Smart Factories 46
 
2.2.3.4 Industrial Symbiosis 46
 
2.2.3.5 Lights-Out Manufacturing 46
 
2.2.3.6 Edge Computing 47
 
2.2.4 Revolution or Evolution? 47
 
2.3 More with Less and the Rebound Effect 49
 
2.4 Radical Solutions to Difficult Problems 52
 
2.4.1 Transforming Business Models 53
 
2.4.2 Creating Collaborative Ecosystems 54
 
2.4.3 Killer Apps of the Industry 4.0 55
 
References 57
 
Chapter 3: Un(mis)understanding Circular Economy 61
 
3.1 A Global Trend 62
 
3.1.1 China and EU Are Leading the Way 62
 
3.1.2 Other Government Initiatives 64
 
3.1.3 Private Sector Initiatives 66
 
3.1.4 Why Now? 66
 
3.2 Circular Economy Comes from Our Past 69
 
3.2.1 The Post-World War II Acceleration 71
 
3.2.2 Industrialization Stimulated the Linearization of the Economy 72
 
3.3 What is a Circular Economy? 74
 
3.3.1 Hundred Fourteen Answers for One Question 77
 
3.4 From Good Intentions to Science 80
 
3.4.1 We Live in a "Full" World 82
 
3.4.2 Thermodynamics Are Fundamental 85
 
3.5 Circularity is not Sustainability 87
 
3.5.1 Anthropogenic Stocks Are Ignored but Rapidly Growing 90
 
3.5.2 What Can We Really Achieve Advancing Circular Economy? 92
 
3.6 The Butterfly Effect 93
 
3.6.1 How About Composite Materials? 96
 
3.6.2 The Importance of the System's Boundaries 96
 
3.7 The End of Growth as We Know It 99
 
3.7.1 The End of "Green Growth" 101
 
3.7.2 IND4.0 and the Religion of Continuous Growth 102
 
3.8 Circular Economy for Whom? 104
 
3.8.1 The Social Footprint of Circular Economy is Shaped by Corporate Interests

About the author

Antonis Mavropoulos is President of ISWA (2016-2020) and founder and CEO of D-Waste, a company that aims to make waste management services accessible to everyone that needs them. An internationally recognized waste management consultant with working experiences in 30 countries, he has invented the Waste Atlas, designed several mobile apps and information systems, and written many papers and reports. All his writings can be found at his blog wastelessfuture.com. Anders Waage Nilsen is a business developer, design strategist, investor, technology columnist and public speaker. He is currently developing WasteIQ, a digital platform for public waste management, based on open standards and IoT integrations.

Summary

How the marriage of Industry 4.0 and the Circular Economy can radically transform waste management--and our world

Do we really have to make a choice between a wasteless and nonproductive world or a wasteful and ultimately self-destructive one? Futurist and world-renowned waste management scientist Antonis Mavropoulos and sustainable business developer and digital strategist Anders Nilsen respond with a ringing and optimistic "No!" They explore the Earth-changing potential of a happy (and wasteless) marriage between Industry 4.0 and a Circular Economy that could--with properly reshaped waste management practices--deliver transformative environmental, health, and societal benefits. This book is about the possibility of a brand-new world and the challenges to achieve it.

The fourth industrial revolution has given us innovations including robotics, artificial intelligence, 3D-printing, and biotech. By using these technologies to advance the Circular Economy--where industry produces more durable materials and runs on its own byproducts--the waste management industry will become a central element of a more sustainable world and can ensure its own, but well beyond business as usual, future. Mavropoulos and Nilsen look at how this can be achieved--a wasteless world will require more waste management--and examine obstacles and opportunities such as demographics, urbanization, global warming, and the environmental strain caused by the rise of the global middle class.

* Explore the new prevention, reduction, and elimination methods transforming waste management

* Comprehend and capitalize on the business implications for the sector

* Understand the theory via practical examples and case studies

* Appreciate the social benefits of the new approach

Waste-management has always been vital for the protection of health and the environment. Now it can become a crucial role model in showing how Industry 4.0 and the Circular Economy can converge to ensure flourishing, sustainable--and much brighter--future.

Product details

• Authors: A Mavropoulos, Antoni Mavropoulos, Antonis Mavropoulos, Antonis Nilsen Mavropoulos, Anders Waage Nilsen
• Publisher: Wiley, John and Sons Ltd
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 30.09.2020
• EAN: 9781119699279
• ISBN: 978-1-119-69927-9
• No. of pages: 448
• Dimensions: 180 mm x 250 mm x 25 mm
• Series: International Solid Waste Association; International Solid Waste Asso
• Subjects: Education and learning > Teaching preparation > Vocational needs; Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Chemistry > Organic chemistry; Chemie, Umweltmanagement, Umweltforschung, Umweltchemie, Industrie 4.0, Kreislaufwirtschaft, Environmental Studies, chemistry, Environmental Chemistry, Waste Treatment, Bauingenieur- u. Bauwesen, Civil Engineering & Construction, Müll- u. Abfallwirtschaft, Environmental Management, Policy & Planning, Umweltmanagement, Politik u. -Planung