{"id":78312,"date":"2026-05-22T16:42:51","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T14:42:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bcsdh.hu\/?p=78312"},"modified":"2026-05-22T21:58:29","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T19:58:29","slug":"mastering-circular-economy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bcsdh.hu\/en\/member-news\/mastering-circular-economy\/","title":{"rendered":"Mastering circular economy"},"content":{"rendered":"

In January 2025, I was shocked when I looked at our Power BI sustainability report.<\/p>\n

Two numbers immediately stood out:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. We had used 12,000 garbage bags in 2024.<\/li>\n
  2. During peak periods, the garbage truck collected several hundred kilograms of waste from us every week.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    And this was despite having dozens of selective waste collection points across our facility.<\/p>\n

    The issue kept bothering me because we had already placed a very strong emphasis on selective waste collection.<\/p>\n

    So one Sunday, I personally went \u201cdumpster diving\u201d \u2014 collecting and analyzing the contents of our waste bins.<\/p>\n

    The next day, we held a staff training session focused on waste management. I brought the previous day\u2019s garbage into the meeting room and emptied it onto a large plastic sheet.<\/p>\n

    Within minutes, we reached two very clear conclusions:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Even though we provided selective waste collection, visitors did not consistently separate waste correctly. Selective bins contained mixed waste, while recyclable materials often ended up in general waste bins.<\/li>\n
    2. A significant portion of our garbage bags were still perfectly usable when thrown away.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      In other words:
      \nour selective collection system was far less effective than we believed \u2014 and, painful as it is to admit, we were wasting garbage bags as well.<\/p>\n

      At that point, my mind went back to 1992, when I wrote my MBA thesis on the then-revolutionary concept of Business Process Reengineering (BPR).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      \"\"<\/td>\n\"\"<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

       <\/p>\n

      The essence of BPR is simple:
      \nlearn to think outside the box and eliminate the \u201cugly worms of habit.\u201d<\/p>\n

      So we started redesigning the entire process.<\/p>\n

      We immersed ourselves in circular economy thinking, added a small technological innovation, and eventually achieved what felt like a small miracle:<\/p>\n

      With just 10\u201315 minutes of additional daily work, the real waste generated by 1,500 visitors now fits into a single 220-liter bag.<\/p>\n

      So what changed?<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Instead of placing garbage bags inside large bins, we reversed the logic:
        \nwe brought large enough collection containers to the garbage bags and emptied waste into them. Only bags that were already damaged or worn out were discarded.<\/li>\n
      2. We re-sorted the collected waste on a specially designed sorting table into 23 different categories, of which only ONE was landfill waste. This means that 22 different material types were guaranteed to find a new \u201epurpose of life\u201d and re-enter the circular economy.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
          \n
        1. We purchased a used industrial compactor. The remaining mixed waste is compressed, achieving an average volume reduction of 70\u201390%.<\/li>\n
        2. The entire system requires only 10\u201315 minutes of extra work per day.<\/li>\n
        3. We also introduced a new KPI:
          \n\u201cLandfill waste generated per 1,000 visitors.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          We launched the system last April, and now \u2014 one year later \u2014 we finally see the full annual results:<\/p>\n

            \n
          • Garbage bag usage decreased by 80%
            \n\u2022 Lanfill waste volume decreased by 90%
            \n\u2022 Our new KPI reached: 40 kg of waste per 1,000 visitors<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            The graph below shows the numbers, the 23 waste categories, and a few images of the new process.<\/p>\n

            Sometimes sustainability does not require expensive miracles.<\/p>\n

            Sometimes it simply requires questioning old habits.<\/p>\n

            This process is scalable, can be freely adopted by companies of any size. Like everything else, this also begins with the right mindset\u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
            \"\"<\/td>\n\"\"<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            In January 2025, I was shocked when I looked at our Power BI sustainability report. Two numbers immediately stood out: We had used 12,000 garbage bags in 2024. 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