Wales has the potential to become a world leader in the circular economy – but industry figures say progress now depends on turning ambition into action.
Speaking on Business News Wales’ Green Economy Wales podcast, experts warned that the next five years will be critical if Wales is to translate its early policy leadership into measurable economic and environmental outcomes.
Eoin Bailey, UK Innovation Manager and Circular Economy Lead at 7 Steel UK, said that while Wales is “small enough to collaborate and large enough to deliver at scale,” the focus must shift from targets to tangible value. He argued that the way organisations currently measure progress – largely through carbon emissions – risks missing the real gains of circular practice.
At 7 Steel’s Cardiff facility, scrap metal from across the UK is recycled using an electric arc furnace to create low-carbon steel products. Eoin said the process delivers up to 80 per cent lower emissions than traditional blast furnaces, yet the current system of carbon accounting recognises only what is reduced, not what is retained.
He called for a new way of measuring success that captures the value of resources kept in use, the skills and manufacturing capability they sustain, and the local supply chains they strengthen. Without this, he warned, the circular economy will remain framed as a cost rather than a source of growth.
Dr Gary Walpole, Director of Circular Economy Innovation Communities, a programme delivered by Cardiff Metropolitan and Swansea Universities, said momentum is growing but must accelerate.
“We don’t have 10 or 15 years to do this; we have five,” he said.
Gary’s programme supports organisations to apply circular principles to their operations, helping businesses to redesign products, reduce waste and rethink services. He pointed to Welsh Government’s Circular Economy Fund and examples such as Bluestone Resort in Pembrokeshire, which has eliminated fossil fuel use and single-use plastics, as evidence that innovation is already happening. But he said fiscal incentives, stronger procurement policies and collaboration across supply chains are now essential to move from pilot projects to mainstream practice.
In construction, that collaboration is beginning to take shape. Stephane Plisson, Technical Manager at Cemex, said South Wales is showing what circularity can look like in reality through projects such as Cardiff Council’s Channel View regeneration. Demolition material from the site is recycled by Dauson Environmental Group and re-used by Cemex to produce new concrete for the same project.
Stephane said that while recycled aggregates have long existed, improved processing quality now makes it possible to use them at scale. He added that South Wales currently produces around 40 per cent of Cemex’s recycled aggregate concrete for the UK – evidence, he said, that “the ball is already rolling” for the region to lead by example.
Ben Maizey, Sustainability and Future Generations Manager at Dauson Environmental Group, said the Channel View project works because of shared goals across the supply chain.
“Circularity depends on openness,” he said. “It’s not going to be achieved by one organisation alone.”
Ben said quality assurance and trust between partners are vital to overcoming the perception that recycled materials are inferior, and that public-sector procurement will be key to embedding circular principles across the economy.
Dauson is also collaborating with Teesside University on research to turn construction waste into ultra-low-carbon cement substitutes – another example, he said, of how cross-sector partnerships can drive innovation.
All four agreed that Wales’ Wellbeing of Future Generations Act gives the nation a unique framework for long-term change. But, as Gary warned, the next five years will decide whether Wales remains a pioneer in principle or becomes a leader in practice.
Listen to the Green Economy Wales podcast episode Unlocking Wales’ Circular Economy Potential here.
