recycling economy

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What is circular economy?

The so-called circular economy is essentially an ecological economy, which requires ecological laws rather than mechanistic laws to guide the economic activities of human society. The difference between circular economy and traditional economy is that traditional economy is a linear economy with one-way flow of "resources-products-pollution emission", which is characterized by high exploitation, low utilization and high emission. In this economy, people extract materials and energy from the earth with high intensity, and then discharge a lot of pollution and waste into water system, air and soil. The utilization of resources is extensive and one-off, and the quantitative growth of economy is realized by constantly turning resources into waste. Unlike this, circular economy advocates a harmonious economic development model with the environment. It requires organizing economic activities into a feedback process of "resources-products-renewable resources", which is characterized by low exploitation, high utilization and low emission. All materials and energy should be used reasonably and permanently in this continuous economic cycle, so as to reduce the impact of economic activities on the natural environment to the smallest possible extent.

The essence of circular economy is ecological economy.

The theoretical basis of circular economy should be said to be ecological economic theory. Eco-economics is based on ecological principles, led by economic principles, centered on human economic activities, using system engineering methods to study the combination of ecology and economy from the widest range, and to study the mutual influence, mutual restriction and interaction between ecosystem and productivity system as a whole, revealing the essential relationship and laws between nature and society, changing the mode of production and consumption, and making efficient and rational use of all available resources. In short, ecological economy is an economy that respects ecological principles and economic laws. It requires that human economic and social development and its ecological environment be regarded as a unity, and economic and social development must follow the ecological theory. Eco-economy emphasizes the comprehensive investigation and implementation of linking the economic system with various components of the ecological system, and requires the comprehensive and coordinated development of economy, society and ecology in order to achieve the optimal goal of eco-economy.

Circular economy is a kind of efficient utilization and recycling of resources as the core, and follows the "3r" principle (that is, reduction, reuse and recycling); Its characteristics are low consumption, low emission and high efficiency. Take the eco-industrial chain as the development carrier; Cleaner production is an important means to realize the effective utilization of material resources and the sustainable development of economy and ecology. Circular economy and ecological economy are closely related and have their own characteristics. Circular economy is essentially ecological economy, that is, it uses ecological economic laws to guide economic activities. It can also be called green economy, a kind of "turning stone into gold" economy. It requires that economic activities consist of a closed-loop material flow of "resource utilization-green industry (product)-resource regeneration", and all materials and energy are reasonably utilized in the economic cycle. The "resources" referred to in circular economy are not only natural resources, but also renewable resources; "Energy" is not only general energy, such as coal, oil and natural gas, but also green energy, such as solar energy, wind energy, tidal energy and geothermal energy. Pay attention to promoting resource conservation, energy conservation, comprehensive utilization of resources and promoting cleaner production, and minimize the impact of economic activities on the natural environment.

The main differences between eco-economy and circular economy are: the core of eco-economy is the coordination between economy and ecology, the organic combination of economic system and ecological system, and the transformation of macro-economic development mode; Circular economy pays attention to the material recycling application of the whole society, emphasizes recycling and ecological efficiency, repeatedly uses resources, and pays attention to resource saving in the whole process of production, circulation and consumption. Ecological economy and circular economy are essentially the same, both of which make economic activities ecological and adhere to sustainable development. Material circulation is not only a natural process, but also an economic and social process. The essence is that human beings exchange materials with nature through social production. That is, the ecological and economic development process of interaction between natural process and economic process. To be exact, the principle of ecological economy embodies the requirements of circular economy and is the theoretical basis for constructing circular economy.

Material circulation is the basic function of ecological economy.

The emergence and development of the concepts of eco-economy and circular economy is the result of human's deep understanding and reflection on the relationship between man and nature, and also the product of human's deep reflection on its own development model in the rapid development of social economy and the crisis of resources, environment and survival. The transformation from traditional economy to ecological economy and circular economy is an inevitable choice under the severe situation of global population explosion, resource shortage and ecological transformation. The objective material world is in circular motion, and material circulation is a new mode of production and the basic function of ecological economy, which is in harmony with nature and meets the requirements of a new road to industrialization. Material circulation and energy flow are two basic functions of natural ecosystem and economic and social system, and they are in constant transformation. Circular economy requires following ecological laws and economic laws, rationally utilizing natural resources and optimizing the environment, developing economy on the basis of continuous recycling of materials, so that the principles of ecological economy can be reflected at different levels of circular economy.

In the development concept of circular economy, it is necessary to change the emphasis on development over economy and unilaterally pursue GDP growth; Pay more attention to speed than benefit; Traditional economic development mode that emphasizes extension expansion and ignores connotation promotion. Transform the traditional linear growth economy that relies on resource consumption into an economy that relies on ecological resource circulation. It is not only a new way of economic growth, but also a new way of pollution control, and it is also an integrated strategy of economic development, resource conservation and environmental protection. The main ideas of circular economy and ecological economy are:

First, a new system view. Circular economy and ecological economy are big systems composed of people, natural resources and science and technology. When considering production and consumption, human beings are required not to leave themselves out of this big system, but to study economic principles that conform to objective laws as a part of this big system. Starting from the natural-economic system, we should take strategic, comprehensive and preventive measures for the whole process of material transformation, reduce the excessive utilization of resources and environment by economic activities and the negative impact on human beings, make the cycle of human economy and society better integrated with the natural cycle, and realize the systematic optimal allocation of regional material flow, energy flow and capital flow.

Second, new economic prospects. Is to use the laws of ecology and ecological economics to guide production activities. Economic activities should be carried out within the scope of ecological tolerance, and the cycle beyond the carrying capacity of resources is a vicious cycle, which will lead to the degradation of the ecosystem. Only a virtuous circle within the carrying capacity of resources can make the ecosystem develop in a balanced way. Circular economy is an economy supported by advanced production technology, substitution technology, reduction technology and * * * link technology, as well as waste resource utilization technology and "zero emission" technology, and is not an economy under the traditional low-level material circulation mode. It requires efforts to establish a supporting technology system for circular economy.

Third, new values. When considering natural resources, we should not only regard them as available resources, but also regard them as ecosystems that need to maintain a virtuous circle; When considering science and technology, we should not only consider its ability to develop nature, but also fully consider its ability to maintain and repair ecosystems, so as to make it a technology beneficial to the environment; When considering people's own development, we should not only consider people's ability to transform nature, but also pay attention to their ability to live in harmony with nature and promote their all-round development.

Fourth, the new production concept. It is to develop the economy in a circular sense and engage in production with the requirements of clean production and environmental protection. Its production concept is to fully consider the carrying capacity of natural ecosystems, save natural resources as much as possible, and continuously improve the utilization efficiency of natural resources. And make full use of resources from the source and the whole production process, so that each enterprise can achieve less investment, less discharge and high utilization in the production process, and achieve waste minimization, recycling and harmlessness. The waste of upstream enterprises becomes the raw material of downstream enterprises, realizing the most effective utilization of regional or enterprise group resources. And use the ecological chain to organically combine industry and agriculture, production and consumption, cities and suburbs, and industry to realize sustainable production and consumption and gradually build a circular society.

Fifth, the new concept of consumption. Advocate green consumption, that is, moderate consumption and graded consumption of materials. It is a consumption pattern that is balanced with the natural ecology, saves and consumes low material, products and services, and pays attention to health care and environmental protection. In daily life, encourage repeated and durable consumption and reduce one-time consumption. But also a sustainable consumption pattern and habit that does not destroy or threaten the environment. At the same time, we should consider the recycling of waste and establish the concept of circular production and consumption.

The key to developing circular economy

Is to accelerate economic transformation.

Circular economy is a new concept and model of economic development, and the key to development lies in accelerating economic transformation. That is to say, according to the theory of ecological economy and the requirements of Scientific Outlook on Development, we should change from the traditional economic growth mode of excessive consumption and extensive management of resources to the economic growth mode of recycling and intensive management of resources. That is to say, to change to the mode of coordinated development of economy, society and ecology, to enter the adjustment of economic structure, and to implement it in all links with coordination, reduction and recycling as the main means to achieve the purpose of saving resources and protecting the environment.

Institutional environment and policy conditions are very important to realize economic transformation. To complete the economic transformation, we must establish a new economic system, including basic systems such as property rights and prices, standardized systems such as production, procurement, consumption and trade, incentive systems such as finance, finance, taxation and investment, and assessment systems such as national economic accounting, auditing and accounting. Standardize and guide economic operation through certain institutional arrangements. The system, system and mechanism have not changed fundamentally, and it is difficult to change the mode of economic growth, let alone economic transformation. In addition, the national comprehensive economic departments should formulate industrial policies, encourage the development of high-tech industries and service industries with low resource consumption and high added value, and transform traditional industries with high technology. It is necessary to use government bonds and other channels to guide investment and promote the formation of circular clean production links in all walks of life; It is necessary to use fiscal and taxation means to encourage enterprises to actively carry out resource conservation and waste recycling, and implement preferential tax policies for products that generate renewable resources. Actively use price leverage to promote the development of circular economy, rationally adjust the price relationship between resource products and final products, and improve the price formation mechanism of natural resources and renewable resources. Solve price barriers. Establish and improve the ecological environment protection and resource compensation mechanism, and give full play to the regulatory role of various levers. Establish an extended producer responsibility system and a consumer recovery system. Clarify the obligations of producers, sellers and consumers for waste recovery, treatment and reuse.

How to make the best use of limited resources is a challenge for enterprises. It will not only bring huge economic benefits to enterprises, but also bring good environmental benefits to cities. For example, Taiyuan Iron and Steel Group Co., Ltd. is a super-large steel complex and the largest stainless steel producer in China. Since 1980s, people began to pay attention to converting waste residue into products again. Over the past 20 years, more than 65.438+million cubic meters of waste residue has been removed, generating more than 450 million yuan of income, 6.5438+043 million yuan of profit and 6.5438+0423 million tons of waste steel recovered, which has turned the original waste residue mountain into a beautiful park, reduced the pollution of waste residue and dust and improved the living environment.

In the process of economic transformation, cities, especially resource-based cities, should pay more attention to the combination with urban construction, industrial optimization and the transformation of old industrial bases, and rationally carry out urban planning and functional layout in accordance with the concepts of ecological economy and circular economy. In terms of urban scale and infrastructure construction, the relationship between urban industrial system and environmental capacity should be fully considered. Under the guidance of eco-economic theory, circular economy has been promoted in enterprises, industrial parks, cities and communities in an all-round way, and its development has been accelerated in an orderly manner, and it has embarked on a resource-saving development path with China characteristics.