Circular economy is gaining traction as the way to design products moving forward, while understanding that the world’s resources are limited and populations are growing. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, below is the definition of circular economy:

Linear versus circular economy definition
A circular economy (often referred to simply as “circularity”) is an economic system aimed at eliminating waste and the continual use of resources (see picture below). Circular systems employ reuse, sharing, repair, refurbishment, remanufacturing and recycling to create a close-loop system, minimising the use of resource inputs and the creation of waste, pollution and carbon emissions. The circular economy aims to keep products, equipment and infrastructure in use for longer, thus improving the productivity of these resources. All “waste” should become “food” for another process: either a by-product or recovered resource for another industrial process or as regenerative resources for nature (e.g., compost).

This regenerative approach contrasts with the traditional linear economy (see picture below), which has a “take, make, dispose” model of production. Proponents of the circular economy suggest that a sustainable world does not mean a drop in the quality of life for consumers and can be achieved without loss of revenue or extra costs for manufacturers. The argument is that circular business models can be as profitable as linear models, allowing consumers to continue enjoying similar products and services.

PVB from Shark Solutions fits perfectly into this concept, since PVB can be recycled again and again. This circular benefit is different than many other chemical substances, that cannot be recycled into new products after use.

Ellen Macarthur Foundation is one of the worlds most dedicated and influential supporters of the circular economy thought process and concept. We can recommend studying their homepage.

There are more than 1,5 billion cars in the world and on average 5-6% gets a new windshield every year as the old one is broken. End of life vehicles is about this same volume – and in addition much laminated building/architectural glass is laminated. In other works, huge volumes of laminated glass and PVB goes to landfill every year – which makes no sense where there is solution for reuse and upcycling as well as numerous application areas both for glass and PVB once separated.

Shark Solutions already process substantial volumes at our operations In Europe and USA; with more to come.