The Circular Economy, Materials and Recycling Seminars are organised in partnership with . They will take place in a 100% recycled seminar space which has been created with support from the and

8.30 – 9.00 Construction and the Circular Economy

Martin Kelly, Chairman, Eco-Res Limited

In the UK, construction and demolition of buildings accounts for 60% of materials consumed and produces 35% of all waste – much of which ends up in landfill.

Optimising the efficiency of the resources used in buildings requires a substantial transformation of the way we conceive, construct, use, de-construct and reconstruct buildings. The embracing of a Circular Economy brings us even nearer to a time when buildings and places can be designed to enhance and contribute to the environment over their life cycle.

In this presentation you will learn about the forefront of designing and constructing multi award winning sustainable buildings across the UK. You will hear about and see case studies of how designing adaptable and flexible buildings, designed for easy refurbishment and remodelling from easily recoverable materials produces a major reduction in the material impact of construction.

Martin Kelly originally trained as an architect before becoming the Chairman and co-founder of Eco-Res Limited a multi-disciplinary sustainable building design and procurement consultancy with clients from the public and private sectors. Prior to forming Eco-Res in 2010, Martin was the Group Chief Executive of one of the UK’s largest not-for-profit social enterprises with property assets in excess of £1.5 billion.

View the presentation here.

10.00 – 10.30 Business opportunities in the Bioeconomy

Jeff Eaves, WasteValor and Fabien Deswarte, Biorenewables Development Centre – University of York

With diminishing fossil resources, a transition is needed towards a better use of renewable biological resources – the Bioeconomy.  This makes use of bio-derived resources, e.g. biomass and food or agricultural wastes, to turn these into valuable new bio-based products for a wide variety of applications including food, feed, materials, cosmetics and energy.

There is a huge potential to tap into these resources, especially in Yorkshire, and the University of York is helping to match up businesses with latest biorenewables innovations.

This talk will give you an overview of the bioeconomy, how this is being applied locally, and the funded support available at York to help your business go green.

View the presentations – part one here and part two here.

10.45 – 11.15 Design for Recovery

Sophie Thomas, Co-Director of Design at the RSA.

Why is design crucial to creating a circular economy, and how can we redesign products and services to incorporate closed loop thinking? In its first 18 months, The Great Recovery has brought together a network of businesses, creatives, policymakers and scientists to focus on building a deeper understanding of design processes and their practical application to complex challenges. The session will look at what the circular economy means for SMEs, and will include some case studies from last year’s Technology Strategy Board competition, ‘New Designs for a Circular Economy’

Come along and find out more about the practical application of circular economy models

• What does design mean for your business?
• How could you recreate your products and services to be part of a circular system?

Sophie Thomas has been working in the fields of communication, sustainable design and material process for over 15 years working with global businesses and UK government  to define the role of designers within the discussion around waste streams, resource efficiency and circular economies. In addition to the RSA post she is Director of Design for the Useful Simple Trust where her focus is working with designers and engineers to create trailblazing work.

View this presentation here.

11.30 – 12.30 The Great Circular Economy Debate -  is today’s Waste Management Sector part of the solution or part of the problem?

Tim Shapcott, Business Development Director, Associated Waste Management + Sophie Thomas, Director of Design RSA + Professor Peter Hopkinson, University of Bradford + Jane Beasley – Director of Beasley Associates Ltd + Peter Hunt Managing Director of WasteCare + Andrew Hartley Managing Director -  Walker Resource Management (Chair).

The Circular Economy is all about adopting a strategic approach to the problems of resource scarcity. It advocates whole scale system change: radical, even disruptive, innovation. Business models and supply chains are being reshaped. Products, processes, assets and business are becoming obsolete and new leaders are emerging.
The UK’s waste management industry is one of the first sectors to be impacted by this new thinking. Businesses in this sector have invested £ billions in recent years to make sure that the UK’s infrastructure for management of resources is fit for the future rather than being the same as in the dark ages. Have these investments paid off?  The only way we’ll really transform our economy is by showing that new ways of working are economically viable and profitable enough to fund future change.
There are still a lot of questions

• When your core business is waste disposal, will you ever be able to profitably be an advocate of waste prevention?
• What is the role of waste management companies in supporting our transition to a Circular Economy?
• Can businesses work with their waste management contractors to keep resources in circulation for longer?

Hear from CE thought leaders and waste management specialists.  Give you thoughts on how the waste management industry can respond to the CE challenge.
This debate is focussed around the waste sector but there will be many transferrable lessons which will interest anyone looking at circular economy models for their business or sector.

View the introductory slides from this presentation here.

13.00 – 13.30 The Circular Economy; The Emperor’s New Clothes?

Mark Sumner, Lecturer, University of Leeds

In this presentation we will explore the complexity of sustainability and how consumers view the role of retailer, and industry in general.

The UK imports over 1 million tonnes of clothing per year, with each kilo of that clothing having a significant environmental and social footprint. But every year 1 million tonnes of clothing is thrown away by the consumer, and over 350,000 tonnes of this waste goes to landfill.  How have the demands of the modern society driven us into this situation, when textile recycling is one of the oldest forms of the circular economy in existence ?

• What are the issues that the fashion industry is facing?

• What challenges do retailers face at the forefront of the industry/consumer interface and how do they manage their customers’ expectations?

Using the fashion industry as a model, we will explore the importance of design, consumer understanding and knowledge of your supply chain.  Combining these aspects can lead to some very interesting and profitable solutions to sustainability challenges.

On completion of his PhD in Textile engineering, Mark Sumner spent 10 years working in retail as a Textile Technologist developing products and managing supply chains. He then became a retail sustainability specialist, developing and delivering sustainability strategies for materials, products, supply chains and ultimately the consumer. Mark developed the first Circular Economy Cashmere & Wool coat for Marks & Spencer in 2012.

View this presentation here.

14.45 – 15.15 Innovation Challenges in Textile Fibre Closed Loop and Circular Economies

Andy Hall, Managing Director at Anglo and Chairman of Carpet Recycling UK Ltd

More than 30% (350,000 tonnes) of our unwanted clothing and 370,000 tonnes of post consumer carpet is currently being disposed of every year in the UK. This represents a lost value of at least  £140 million in reuse and recycling (source: Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP).

Anglo Recycling Technology Limited has transformed in recent years from an historical felt carpet underlay manufacturer to an innovator in textile fiber recycling.  They have expanded into new markets such as horticulture, acoustic construction products, automotive and the food industries.

The company is predominantly sourcing carpet waste (both manufacturing and post consumer waste) to develop its products in a low carbon process. New product development is, in some cases proving to be disruptive (in a good way), influencing product design and material choice.  Expansion into new, reclaimed, fibres is now challenging Anglo and partners to look at new applications in closed loop recycling as well as providing the basis for original product design adopting circular economy principles.

Andy Hall has a background in various manufacturing sectors including oil and gas, electronic, automotive and more recently the flooring industry.  He will talk about how the company has developed strategic alliances and partnerships, sometimes in non-traditional sectors, to effectively utilise ‘waste’ as a raw material.   His presentation looks at some of the successful applications of innovation and product design as well as current and future challenges. This fascinating presentation will be of interest to both textile industry specialists and those interested in closed loop product development, material innovation and circular economy.

View the presentation here.

15.30 – 16.00 The Future of 3D Printing

Michael Wilson, Technology Manager, 3M Buckley Innovation Center

There’s a lot of media hype about 3d printing – find out more about the real-world reality from a local expert who has a 3D printing machine.

This session will take you through

• What the 3D printing process is like and what machines are on the market at present
• What is on the horizon in terms of developments- 3D printing of food? better technology for handling metal printing?
• Potential business threats in this technology: will it disrupt traditional manufacturing or damage designers’ copyrights?
• Potential advantages: experimentation, efficiency in small-scale runs, an ability to handle more complex designs, reduction in transport costs…?

If you think 3D printing could impact on your business in future – or if you are just interested in the latest technology – you will find this session really interesting.

View the presentation here.