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Transition of the Swiss Phosphorus System towards a Circular Economy—Part 1: Current State and Historical Developments

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  • Jonas Mehr

    (Laboratory for Human-Environment Relations in Urban Systems HERUS, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Urban Ecology and Sustainable Living, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
    Ecological Systems Design, ETH Zurich, IfU, CH-8093 Zürich, Switzerland)

  • Michael Jedelhauser

    (Department of Geography, LMU Munich, 80333 Munich, Germany)

  • Claudia R. Binder

    (Laboratory for Human-Environment Relations in Urban Systems HERUS, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Urban Ecology and Sustainable Living, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland)

Abstract

Current phosphorus (P) use in European countries is highly dependent on mineral P imports and not sustainably managed. In order to identify and implement measures for sustainable P management, a comprehensive understanding of national P flows and stocks and their temporal dynamics is essential. We conduct a substance flow analysis (SFA) of the Swiss P system of the year 2015, and study the dynamics of the national P system by looking into its development since 1989. Furthermore, we investigate how political-legislative interventions affected the P system during this period. The results show that between 1989 and 2015, the P efficiency in Swiss agriculture increased from 59% to 94%, mainly due to a considerable reduction of fertilization in the agricultural subsystem. At the same time, Switzerland's P import dependency decreased from 33% to 24% between 1989 and 2002 because of a reduction of mineral fertilizer import and use. Between 2002 and 2015, the import dependency stagnated because further improvements in P use efficiency in agriculture were outweighed by a decrease of P recycling and an increase of P losses in the waste management system. By embedding these temporal dynamics in their political-legislative context, we found that top-down interventions such as incentives for a balanced nutrient budget in agriculture, restrictions of the use of animal by-products in the agri-food system or the ban of direct sewage sludge recycling in agriculture significantly affected and shaped the national P system. Our analysis provides profound quantitative and qualitative insights into past and present P management in Switzerland and is followed by part 2 of the paper, where we analyze possible future pathways of P management.

Suggested Citation

  • Jonas Mehr & Michael Jedelhauser & Claudia R. Binder, 2018. "Transition of the Swiss Phosphorus System towards a Circular Economy—Part 1: Current State and Historical Developments," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-17, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:5:p:1479-:d:145226
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Rizos, Vasileios & Tuokko, Katja & Behrens, Arno, 2017. "The Circular Economy: A review of definitions, processes and impacts," CEPS Papers 12440, Centre for European Policy Studies.
    2. Oliver Schwab & Ottavia Zoboli & Helmut Rechberger, 2017. "A Data Characterization Framework for Material Flow Analysis," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 21(1), pages 16-25, February.
    3. Paul H. Brunner, 2010. "Substance Flow Analysis as a Decision Support Tool for Phosphorus Management," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 14(6), pages 870-873, December.
    4. Claudia R. Binder & Ester Van Der Voet & Kirsten Sinclair Rosselot, 2009. "Implementing the Results of Material Flow Analysis," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 13(5), pages 643-649, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Rocío González-Sánchez & Davide Settembre-Blundo & Anna Maria Ferrari & Fernando E. García-Muiña, 2020. "Main Dimensions in the Building of the Circular Supply Chain: A Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-25, March.
    2. Gerald Steiner & Bernhard Geissler, 2018. "Sustainable Mineral Resource Management—Insights into the Case of Phosphorus," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-8, August.
    3. Michael Jedelhauser & Jonas Mehr & Claudia R. Binder, 2018. "Transition of the Swiss Phosphorus System towards a Circular Economy—Part 2: Socio-Technical Scenarios," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-19, June.
    4. Luca Adami & Marco Schiavon, 2021. "From Circular Economy to Circular Ecology: A Review on the Solution of Environmental Problems through Circular Waste Management Approaches," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-20, January.
    5. Ng, Sin Jin & Li, Bing & He, Zhengyang & Han, Jing-Cheng & Munir, Muhammad Tajammal & Wu, Xiaofeng & Huang, Yuefei, 2023. "Global phosphorus cycling: The impact of international commercial trading and the path towards sustainable phosphorus management," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PA).
    6. Gabriel Gerner & Jae Wook Chung & Luca Meyer & Rahel Wanner & Simon Heiniger & Daniel Seiler & Rolf Krebs & Alexander Treichler & Roman Kontic & Beatrice Kulli, 2023. "Hydrothermal Carbonization of Sewage Sludge: New Improvements in Phosphatic Fertilizer Production and Process Water Treatment Using Freeze Concentration," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(20), pages 1-19, October.
    7. Carla Mae Jabar Pausta & Michael Angelo Baliwag Promentilla & Alberto Leyes Longos & Aileen Huelgas Orbecido & Arnel Bas Beltran & Regina Gador Damalerio & Maria Eda Apple Artesano Suplido & Devendra , 2023. "Resource-Oriented Sanitation: On-Farm Septage Treatment and Nutrient Recycling for Sustainable Agriculture in the Philippines," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-20, June.
    8. Mew, Michael & Steiner, Gerald & Haneklaus, Nils & Geissler, Bernhard, 2023. "Phosphate price peaks and negotiations – Part 2: The 2008 peak and implications for the future," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    9. Marzena Smol & Paulina Marcinek & Eugeniusz Koda, 2021. "Drivers and Barriers for a Circular Economy (CE) Implementation in Poland—A Case Study of Raw Materials Recovery Sector," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-19, April.

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