Integration of Waste into Circular Carbon Economy: Better Carbon Management for Climate Change Mitigation and Sustainable Development in the Case of Food Waste

Serpil Guran*, Rupa Deshmukh**

*Rutgers EcoComplex

**New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection

Abstract:

The emerging concept of “circular economy” has attracted interest of various stakeholders with varying definitions and achievement goals. Circular economy can promote sustainable development and positively contribute to carbon footprint reduction and help mitigate climate change. Circular economy can be an effective pathway for achieving lower-carbon economy. Therefore, promoting combined understanding of circularity and lower-carbon economy as “circular carbon economy” and emphasizing the transformation of linear make-it /use-it/dispose-it pathway to circular resource recovery pathway can provide better results. To date, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventories generally report that emissions related to waste management matters globally may not be as high as other GHG emitting sources i.e. electricity generation from fossil fuel combustion or transportation and may create understanding that innovative approaches in waste management sector may not contribute to climate change mitigation efforts substantially. This paper examines how innovative waste management approaches can serve as an integral component in achieving “circular carbon economy” in New Jersey by 2050.

Key Words: Circular economy, low-carbon economy, waste disposal, resource recovery, climate change mitigation, food waste