Purpose
The “Circular Bioeconomy” seems to be everywhere these days. The American Society of Biological and Agricultural Engineers (ASABE) created a Circular Bioeconomy Systems Institute. The Water Environment Federation (WEF) sponsored a Circular Water Economy Summit. I’m on an email list called “In the Loop with EPA: Circular Economy Updates”. Even my old alma mater, the University of Arkansas, announced a position for an Assistant Professor in Engineering for the Circular Economy.
In the midst of all this, I am sensing a backlash from my colleagues. There is a rising attitude of, “isn’t this just a new name for what we’ve been doing all along?” True, but the Circular Bioeconomy is a bona fide environmental concept, one rooted in a process evolving for at least four and a half billion years on planet earth – Nature itself. We Waste to Worth folks should embrace the Circular Bioeconomy. We should proudly say, “This is what I do.”
What Did We Do?
So, what is the Circular Bioeconomy?
Here lies the problem. The terms “circular economy” and “bioeconomy” are interpreted by different groups to mean different things, leading to confusion and cynicism. Perhaps the clearest way to define the Circular Bioeconomy is to state what it is not. A circular bioeconomy is not a linear “take-make-waste” economy based on extraction of limited resources. The Circular Bioeconomy is an aspiration, a transition to a nature-based economy centered on sustainability.
What Have We Learned?
How can we explain what we do in the Circular Bioeconomy to the public we serve?
Most of the people attending this conference already work in “the bioeconomy” — either in agriculture, forestry, fisheries, or natural resource conservation. The place to start is with circularity. The universe you and I inhabit works in cycles. The second law of thermodynamics is “water flows downhill.” The law of nature is “energy flows and materials circulate.”
Translating this simple concept can get complicated quickly. There are numerous qualitative descriptors for various aspects of circularity, and an attempt to quantify circularity is in its infancy.
Future Plans
So, take a step back and focus on the central truth. What is true for the water cycle, is true for nutrient cycles, is true for agriculture, is true for the power grid, and these are all interconnected.
Plants use solar energy and transpire water vapor to the atmosphere. Energy is released through condensation. Rain falls on the earth and rivers flow to the sea. Water vapor travels on prevailing winds…
Soil microorganisms use energy contained in organic matter for growth. Microorganisms release nutrients for crops to grow. Crops are eaten by livestock and poultry. Animals of all species produce manure rich in organic matter and nutrients…
round and round …
sustainably.
Presenting and Corresponding author
Douglas W. Hamilton, Ph.D., P.E., Associate Professor and Waste Management Specialist, Oklahoma State University, dhamilt@okstate.edu
Additional Information