Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
design. The conservation of raw materials and energy should be considered in the
product design stage. Less expensive, scarce, and hazardous materials are used. In
the stage of the production process, re-forming the production technology, updating
the equipment, and improving the utilization of raw materials and energy in every
production process reduce waste and toxicity. The product should not damage
human health and the ecological environment during and after use. The product
packaging should be reasonable, avoiding excessive packaging. The product should
be easy to recycle, reuse, and regenerate after the product has been used. The service
life and use function of the product should be reasonable.
(4) Control of cleaner production process
The whole process of the production organization and measures taken in all links
for necessary pollution prevention should be controlled. The specific practices are
to improve management, including materials management, equipment management,
production process management, product quality management, and on-site environ-
mental management [
3
].
10.3
Circular Economy
The circular economy is also known as and is the short title for a resource recycling
economy. The circular economy is relative to the traditional linear economy.
It is essentially an ecological economy; cleaner production and comprehensive
utilization of waste are blended together. It requires the use of ecological rules to
guide the production activities of human society. In accordance with the natural
ecosystem, the material cycle and energy flow pattern restructure the economic
system. The circular economy also blends the economic system harmoniously into
the natural ecosystem and material cycle to establish a new form of economy. The
economic activity of the traditional process based on resources, products, and waste
as a single linear process should be shifted to resources, products, and renewable
resources according to the feedback process. Waste means any substances which
were produced and remained in process of producing target products, and possibly
harmful to the environment. Therefore, the circular economy is an important
innovation of the traditional linear economy. Its characters are the low consumption
and high utilization of the natural resources, and the low emission and recycling of
waster. Its aims is to maximize the use of materials and energy efficiency, and then to
reduce the impact of production activities on the natural environment to the minimal
extent, and solve the sharp contradiction between the long-standing economic
development and environmental damage from the fundamental, finally, to really
achieve the “win-win” of economic development and ecological protection [
3
].
The circular economy is an eco-economy. A circular economy is referred to as
a closed-loop flow of material based on the features of the material and energy
echelon and closed-loop use, which show efficient use of resources in terms of
those resources, low-pollution emissions, and even zero-emission pollution in the
environmental aspects. It integrates clean production, comprehensive utilization
