Reuse and recovery of raw materials: Towards the achievement of a resource-efficient society

C. Brunori, L. Cutaia, R. Morabito
DOI:  10.12910/EAI2015-009

Resource efficiency has become a priority for both environmental and economic reasons and its increase plays a key role to securing growth and jobs. There is a need to create a framework for policies to support the shift towards a resource-efficient and low-carbon economy. During the last few decades a rapid growth in the number of materials used across complex products has occurred. Given the high economic importance of critical raw materials combined with relatively high supply risk, securing reliable and undistorted access of certain raw materials is of growing concern across the globe. Development of eco-innovative approaches devoted to closing the loop of resources is strongly needed. Product and process eco-innovation represent the main pillars in achieving a resource-efficient use, however there is also a strong need for integrated management solutions allowing a connection between production cycles and their territory. Developed tools should target both industrial areas and cities. Some examples of resource-efficient ecoinnovation will be briefly presented based on the ENEA experience: industrial symbiosis in industrial areas, and urban mining within cities.