Circular Economy

Use recycled, reused and renewable materials and components

To keep materials in circulation for as long as possible, it is just as important for producers to design and produce new products with circular materials as it is to recover parts and recycle or regenerate materials at end-of-use stage. This is “closing the material loop,” and it is a necessary step toward enabling a circular economy.

The share of total recycled materials used is increasing slowly in regions where data is available but needs to be significantly accelerated. For example, the share of recycled materials in the European Union (EU) slowly increased from 8.2% in 2004 to 10.7% in 2010 and 11.5% in 2022.

According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the use of recycled plastic for making new products increased slowly from 1.5% in 1990 to 6.3% in 2019. That number needs to increase dramatically if the use of virgin materials is to be reduced, although using 100% recycled plastic material in many products is not practical due to quality and degradation limitations.

Recycling metals has been a common practice given their high value. However, significant growth in the total quantity of metals used combined with lagging growth in scrap metal for recycling has led to the share of recycled content for some metals remaining constant or even decreasing. For example, the average share of recycled content in copper was 35% in 2005 and has since fluctuated between 29% and 37%.

For products and materials from biological sources, resources that are sustainably managed should be used. Unfortunately, the use of sustainably produced renewable materials is not adequately monitored.

The reuse of recovered parts and components to make new products or infrastructure is also not being monitored. Prioritizing reuse when possible can close circularity loops more efficiently than recycling. An example of a reused part may be an outer casing of an end-of-use product that can be reused in a new product without significant modification. There is not yet enough data to understand the current levels of reuse and set science-based targets.

Enablers and barriers to using circular materials

Increasing the share of circular materials requires not only the availability of quality materials to reuse or recycle, but also a willingness of producers to use these materials in products. Economic viability, compatibility with available production methods, positive market demand and policy support are key enablers.

For products that are manufactured goods, the use of recycled materials, renewable materials or reused components typically needs to be selected at the design phase. Therefore, it is important to influence the initial product specification to incorporate material circularity and train designers to use circular materials. More data is needed to evaluate these drivers.

Data Insights

Is the world making enough progress toward the most important outcomes?

Systems Change Lab assesses progress made across 7 outcome indicators. Click a chart to explore the data.

What factors may enable or prevent change?

Systems Change Lab identifies 4 enablers and barriers that may help spur or impede change. Click a chart to explore the data.

Progress toward targets

Systems Change Lab tracks progress made across 7 outcome indicators. outcome indicator. Explore the data and learn about key actions supporting systems change.

Share of reused content and materials as a fraction of total material input

Unlike recycled materials, reused content retains its value with minimal processing and therefore tends to be environmentally preferable over recycled materials.

Reused content are components and parts that are recovered from end-of-life products but are still good enough to be reused in new products, such as building construction and remanufactured electronic products, or as replacement parts for repair, such as in automobiles. Unlike recycled materials, reused content retains its value with minimal processing and therefore tends to be environmentally preferable over recycled materials.

Until recently, reused content has not received the level of attention from policymakers and industry stakeholders that has been given to recycled content. This is partly because ensuring functional compatibility, safety and durability of reused content adds challenges and special recovery is needed. As a consequence, very little data is available. Measuring and tracking reused content is needed to understand the contributions and opportunities of this important method to close material loops in a circular economy.

Share of renewable materials as a fraction of total material input

Renewable material can contribute significantly to closing material loops, but it must be sustainably sourced and regenerated quickly enough that resources aren’t depleted to do so.

Renewable material is an important contributor to closing material loops in a circular economy because of its natural regeneration. However, in order to count toward this indicator, the renewable materials should be sustainably sourced and regenerated within a timeframe that ensures that they are not depleted, such as wood from a sustainably managed forest.

New applications for renewable materials in products continue to be developed, creating opportunities to substitute virgin, non-renewable materials and therefore reduce environmental impact from extraction and processing. Additional data is needed to track the level of renewable materials that are truly compatible with sustainable development.

This indicator should increase as long as resource use remains well within the capacity of the ecosystem to regenerate. The exact limit depends on the local ecosystem.

Share of total material input that is recycled material

While data on the use of recycled materials is limited, data from the European Union shows that in 2021, only 11.4% of material input was recycled materials, up from 8.3% in 2004.

To reduce sourcing of virgin materials, including many types of metals, plastics and wood fibers, producers can use recycled materials to close the material loop. These materials are already in the economy, having been recovered and reprocessed and made available for use.

This indicator is a measure of the share (by weight) of input material resources that are recycled. When selecting recycled materials, producers also need to consider factors like quality, going beyond just the availability of such materials. An increase in the share of recycled materials suggests that the recycled materials are meeting these requirements. The use of recycled material is an important metric to be measured and understood independent of recycled material production.

Data from the European Union shows that in 2021, only 11.4% of material input was recycled materials, up from 8.3% in 2004. Data from other regions is lacking, and therefore we don’t have a global picture of the share of recycled material used.

Currently, there are no agreed-upon targets for the share of recycled material use, given that renewable materials and reused components are also viable and sometimes better methods to close the loop.

Recycling input ratio of plastics

OECD statistics suggest that the share of consumed plastic that is recycled material was only 6.3% in 2019, having risen slowly from 4.1% in 2009.

The use of recycled plastic to replace virgin plastic in production is particularly important given that global plastic consumption grew 27% from 2011 to 2021 and most virgin plastic material is produced from fossil fuels. Statistics from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) suggest that the share of consumed plastic that is recycled material, also known as the recycling input ratio, was only 6.3% in 2019, having risen slowly from 4.1% in 2009.

There are no agreed-upon targets for the recycling input ratio of plastics. While a 100% recycling input ratio is not practical for plastic due to limitations from material degradation and quality requirements, the ratio needs to be increased dramatically if the use of virgin materials is to be reduced. 

Recycling input ratio of major metals

Considering the significant environmental impacts of the mining and processing of metal ores, metal recycling has become a common practice and is a priority in closing material loops.

The mining and processing of metal ores can have significant environmental impacts, such as open pits, chemical runoff and loss of wildlife habitat. Considering these impacts and the high value of many metals, metal recycling has become a common practice and a priority in closing material loops.

With demand for metals continuing to grow, it is necessary to accelerate the use of recycled metals in order to reduce the extraction of metal ores. The average share of recycled copper in copper material that is used in the world, or copper’s recycling input ratio, is a useful example of this challenge. The indicator is trending slightly downward, from 37% in 2012 to 32.5% in 2022. This indicates that the amount of recycled copper that is used is increasing more slowly than the amount of total copper used. 

Recent data on other metals indicates that the global recycling input ratio for aluminum in 2018 was 32%, according to the International Aluminum Institute. In 2019, the recycling input ratio for zinc was 39%. Similarly, scrap steel comprised an average 35% of global steel consumption, according to the World Steel Association.

Data across all metals is limited and needs to be improved to better understand the gaps and opportunities in metal recycling. (See “Critical raw materials for other metals.”)

Recycling input ratio of critical raw materials

Critical raw minerals, many of which are particularly important for low-carbon energy production and storage, are economically and strategically important but have high risk associated with their supply.

Critical raw materials are raw materials that are economically and strategically important but have a high risk associated with their supply. Several critical raw materials, such as lithium, cobalt and neodymium, are particularly important for low-carbon energy production and storage. This applies, for instance, in manufacturing renewable energy equipment such as wind turbines and battery storage systems. Recycled critical raw materials should be used when available to reduce supply risk and reduce environmental and social impacts from extracting and processing virgin critical raw materials.

There is no globally applicable list of critical raw materials. Several countries, including Canada, the United States and those in the European Union (EU), have identified their own critical raw material lists and set up recycling or other supply risk mitigation initiatives. To increase the recovery and recycling of these materials, we need a common global approach to track and report critical raw materials through the supply network and improve recycling practices.

Some regulators, including in the EU, are introducing policies that require manufacturers of key products like information technology equipment, batteries and renewable energy equipment to identify specific critical raw materials in their products to assist recyclers in locating the critical raw materials for recovery. 

Recycled content input ratio of specific products

Specific types of products — such as electronics, automobiles and packaging — have seen a focused interest in increasing their recycled content because of market growth and an opportunity to use recycled materials.

For specific types of products — such as electronics, automobiles and packaging — there has been a focused interest in tracking and increasing the amount of recycled content in products (by weight) because of significant market growth and the opportunity to use recycled materials instead of new materials. The focus has come from ecolabel criteria, purchasing requirements and marketing opportunities for producers, and is starting to emerge in regulatory requirements. Data is needed to track how various initiatives impact the recycled content in specific products over time. However, no centralized data source for this indicator has been identified. 

Enablers and barriers

We also monitor change by tracking a critical set of 4 enablers and barriers enabler or barrier that can help spur or impede change. Explore the data and learn about key actions supporting systems change.

Number of countries with regulations that require products to include recycled materials

Regulations that require a minimum level of recycled material in specific types of products can help drive the demand for recycled materials, often focusing on building and construction materials.

Countries or subnational governments may have regulations that require a minimum level of recycled material in specific types of products. For example, the European ecodesign for sustainable products regulation is expected to impose recycled content requirements for certain products. This can be an enabler for driving the demand for recycled materials. Building and construction materials are often the focus of such policies, with requirements typically promoted by the municipality or region. Packaging materials and some manufactured goods, such as electronics and energy generation and storage equipment, are other product areas with emerging requirements for recycled content. Currently, there is no comprehensive publicly available data on these regulations.  

Number of countries with regulations that ensure renewable materials in products are produced regeneratively

Regulations to ensure renewable materials are sustainably and regeneratively produced can help guarantee that those materials are not used beyond the capacity of the environment.

Countries or subnational governments may have regulations that require renewable materials in specific types of products to be certified as sustainably and regeneratively produced. This can help ensure that renewable materials that are used or consumed are in fact regenerated and are not used beyond the capacity of the environment to maintain those resources.

Currently, there is no comprehensive publicly available data on such regulations.

Number of companies with targets to source recycled materials

Corporate targets with internal directives to source materials with recycled content can help drive demand and reduce the reliance on virgin materials.

Given that the use of recycled materials is often specified at a product or project level, corporate targets with internal directives to source materials with recycled content can help drive demand and reduce the reliance on virgin materials.

This indicator represents the number of companies that have established targets for procuring recycled materials. The targets may be for the amount of recycled materials that are used in manufacturing of products, or they may be related to purchasing products that include a specified level of recycled materials.

Current data availability is poor. As substituting virgin materials with recycled materials is crucial to promoting a circular economy, this indicator needs to accelerate dramatically, with all companies making a commitment to using recycled materials where appropriate. 

Number of companies with targets to source regeneratively produced renewable materials

Corporate targets and initiatives to source regeneratively produced renewable materials can reduce environmental impacts, ensuring that renewable materials are not used beyond the capacity of the environment.

Corporate targets and internal initiatives to source regeneratively produced renewable materials can help reduce environmental impacts. This can ensure that renewable materials are not used beyond the capacity of the environment to maintain these resources, as materials that do not meet the criteria can deplete vital resources and reduce the ability of the environment to sustain itself.

This indicator represents the number of companies that have established targets for procuring renewable materials. This may be renewable materials that are used in the manufacturing of products, or it may be purchasing products that include a specified level of renewable materials. For materials to qualify as renewable, they should be sustainably and regeneratively produced.

Current data availability is poor due to a lack of corporate survey data, but recognizing the important opportunity of sourcing sustainably managed materials, this indicator needs to accelerate dramatically, with all companies making a commitment where appropriate. 

Data Challenges

Centralized and comprehensive data on the use of circular materials or components (recycled, reused or renewable) and the changes that need to be made is limited. The use of such materials or components as a substitute is typically a design or sourcing decision that is made on a product or project basis. This information has traditionally not been well tracked and aggregated and is difficult to survey, unless there is a specific marketing benefit or requirement for manufacturers. The added cost and overhead of validating and communicating the use of circular content are hindering factors. Negative perceptions surrounding the quality of recycled and reused content compared to virgin materials may also be a factor. The information that is available is usually from material producers (such as those producing metals and plastics) who source raw materials and blend in recycled content, but even this is not consistently measured in different countries. The source of the recycled content is also not always clear or consistent, such as whether it is derived from pre-consumer materials, post-consumer materials or internally within an industrial process. Better data is needed to help understand how the global community is progressing with this shift.

Photo credits

Photo by Mikita Yo