The UK needs stronger financial incentives, long-term regulatory certainty and investment in infrastructure to unlock the circular economy, according to a new report from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE).
The report, Moving to a Circular Economy in the Process Sector, argues that the engineering solutions needed to improve resource recovery and reuse already exist or are emerging, but businesses lack the commercial incentives and policy certainty to implement them at scale.
It identifies fragmented regulation, ageing infrastructure, inconsistent data and weak economic incentives as major barriers to progress.
The report highlights opportunities across several industrial sectors, including recovering materials from decommissioned wind turbines, reusing wastewater, converting refinery infrastructure to process waste-based feedstocks and recovering valuable resources from industrial by-products.
However, it warns that moving away from the traditional ‘take, make, dispose’ model will require more than improvements to recycling. IMechE also called on the government to “consider policy levers to make circularity more competitive, such as resource taxation, extended producer responsibility, recycled content mandates, and specifying circularity in public procurement standards.”
Kahu Te Kani, senior policy advisor at IMechE, said: “Practical opportunities already exist across industry, including recovering materials from decommissioned wind turbines, reusing wastewater, converting existing refinery infrastructure to process waste-based feedstocks and recovering valuable resources from industrial by-products.
“Government needs to intervene to align a new circular economy with the UK’s Industrial Strategy and Net Zero objectives.”
Virgin prices
The report argues that businesses are often discouraged from adopting circular practices because virgin materials remain cheaper, while high capital costs and lengthy payback periods make investment in resource recovery difficult to justify.
It also highlights the problem of existing industrial infrastructure being designed around disposal rather than reuse and recovery, making retrofitting expensive and difficult.
Among its recommendations, IMechE calls on the Government to consider resource taxation, recycled-content requirements and circularity standards in public procurement.
It also wants long-term policy certainty, clearer definitions and standards for secondary materials, and investment in resource recovery hubs, water recycling infrastructure and industrial clusters.
The report says the forthcoming Circular Economy Strategy should provide multi-decade policy signals to encourage private investment, supported by nationally recognised indicators and reporting frameworks.
It concludes that engineers must play a central role in the transition, with circular economy principles incorporated into the design of products, industrial plants and infrastructure from the outset.
Recommendations
The report made a series of reccomendations to the UK Government, engineers, and professional institutions.
For the UK Government, IMechE called for “long-term policy certainty, supported by data and metrics”.
It also recommended the government:
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Introduce stable, multi-decade policy signals to encourage investment in circular economy infrastructure.
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Ensure the forthcoming Circular Economy Strategy is long-term.
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Establish clear carbon pricing trajectories and stable regulatory frameworks.
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Introduce nationally recognised indicators and reporting frameworks, aligned across the UK nations.
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Clarify regulations and standards, including common definitions of secondary materials.
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Harmonise standards for secondary materials.
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Streamline permitting for circular economy processes.
- Develop cross-departmental programmes that align circular economy policy with the Industrial Strategy and Net Zero objectives.
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Consider resource taxation to make virgin material consumption less attractive.
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Use extended producer responsibility to encourage circular practices.
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Introduce recycled-content mandates.
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Include circularity requirements in public procurement standards.
Engineers
The report says engineers should:
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Apply whole-systems thinking when designing projects.
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Design products and infrastructure for disassembly and reuse.
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Consider lifecycle impacts from the beginning of projects.
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Share failures and lessons learned rather than concealing unsuccessful projects.
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Measure resource productivity alongside financial performance.
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Incorporate circularity into risk assessments and investment decisions.
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Champion evidence-based policy discussions.
Professional engineering institutions
Work together to provide leadership on circular economy policy.
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Undertake joint research across engineering disciplines.
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Develop common standards.
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Bring together stakeholders from different sectors to identify complementary solutions.
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Establish clearer circular economy principles and competencies for engineers.