Recycling experts visit The Sheehan Group plant

The circular economy is a concept that provides new business strategies and economic policies to create value again and again and aims to achieve inclusive economic, social and environmental prosperity within the planet’s boundaries. The launch of Circle Lab follows the news that the global economy is only 9.1% circular and that the current linear system of production is failing people and the planet. “eBay has been at the heart of the circular economy since its founding over 20 years ago. The eBay Foundation believes that by using the power of technology to bring people together, the circular economy can help fuel the future of commerce. We are proud to support Circle Lab, a platform that accelerates creative problem-solving and entrepreneurial action towards a more circular economy,” said Amy Millington, President of eBay Foundation. During the past five years, Circle Economy has worked on hundreds of business cases, and supported businesses, cities and regions in imagining a new “circular future”. After bringing to life countless pilot projects, they have identified the need for a platform that not only captures ideas and encourages collaboration, but also ensures that those ideas see the light of day and are actually implemented. During a successful market validation phase last year, Circle Lab brought together a community of nearly 14,000 and co-created unique reverse logistics solutions for the mobile phone industry. Following this phase, Circle Economy launched the open-access knowledge portion of Circle Lab in August of 2017. The knowledge hub has since brought together nearly 2,000 circular economy enthusiasts who are now using the hub’s 750 case studies to share and further learn about the topic. “The launch of the knowledge hub and results of the market validation showed us that there is a high demand for a global community to engage and co-create circular solutions. The addition of a challenge environment is the next step,” said Friedl.
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Scientists are working with a Victorian almond grower to trial an orchard redevelopment practice to reduce the industry’s carbon footprint.  Whole orchard recycling is an established practice for orchard redevelopment in California Researchers overseeing an Australian trial want to quantify the impact it has on the carbon footprint of local almond orchards.  By incorporating the wood chips back into the soil, almond growers in the US are reporting better water-holding capacity and better nutrient uptake
When almond growers decide to redevelop part of their orchard, the trees are often removed and then burnt.  Merbein almond grower Neale Bennett was in the United States five years ago and saw the process in action.