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Browsing by Subject "circular economy"

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  • EU Legislation on WEEE Recycling and its Failure to Close The Loop of Critical Raw Materials 
    Penttilä, Matias (2020)
    E-waste (WEEE) is a significant source of Critical Raw Materials, which are materials that EU has deemed to be extremely important for its industry and at risk of supply disruption. However, the recycling rate from WEEE for most of these materials is very low, which is in direct contradiction to EU’s Circular Economy goals and industrial strategy. The goal of this thesis is to identify the shortcomings of EU WEEE legislation in promoting the circular use of CRMs, and then pinpoint the most critical issues that the legislation should pay attention to in order to improve the situation. The method used in the work is regulatory theory. The thesis finds that the current WEEE legislation is based around the previous generation of waste management issues, e.g. landfill capacity concerns, and does not take into account properly the current challenges of material efficiency and circularity. Improving the recycling rate of CRMs will require targeted legislative and policy action in key parts of the life cycle of electronics.
  • The collision between the right to repair and trademark rights 
    Tervas, Krista (2023)
    Many environmental problems can be linked to increased consumption, such as the depletion of natural resources and increasing amounts of waste. The consumption-led market has led to a linear economy model, which reflects the principle of take-make-consume-waste, meaning that large amounts of materials are extracted from the environment and prepared into products which are then disposed at the end of their life cycle. Currently, there is increasing discussion of the circular economy as a replacement for the linear model and the opportunities it offers to tackle environmental challenges and preserve the Earth’s capacity for future generations. The circular economy model is based on the idea of reduce, reuse and recycle and it aims to extend the life cycle of products and minimise waste by reusing and recycling existing materials and resources. One of the key principles of the circular economy is the concept of right to repair, which objectives is to increase the repairability of products so that less resources are needed in manufacturing and less waste is generated. However, circular economy is not regulated in private law, such as intellectual property law. Although intellectual property rights have also a remarkable role in promoting sustainability and circular economy due to their impact on technological innovation and business, they may sometimes hinder the appropriate implementation of the right to repair. This is the case with trademarks, for example, because the exclusive right of a trademark may hinder a third-party repairer’s ability to repair a trademarked product. Because the European Union has in recent years adopted many policies and regulations with an aim to promote the circular economy, it is important to balance the interests of the right to repair and trademark protection in order to achieve a balanced solution which allows both the appropriate repair of products and the proper protection of trademarks in order to support the development of new innovations.

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