06Whole life approach to responsible consumption
UKWIR will enable research which maximises recovery of useful resources and minimises waste, using the principles of a circular economy.
As a society we need to move away from a linear take-use-discard model of consumption and move towards more circular, responsible consumption, treating water as the precious resource that it is. This requires collaboration and innovation across the sector, from suppliers, water companies and operators, all the way to businesses and customers in their own homes. This level of collaboration will be a large challenge, and will require an increase in efficiency and more sustainable consumption.
UKWIR plans to support research to increase knowledge and improve practices so that by 2050 the water sector will have:
- Circular economy principles and applications
- Customers that understand water use and water as a precious resource
- An understanding of regulation to incentivise circular economy principles
- Maximised the recovery of value from waste streams
- Minimised the use of finite natural resources
- An understanding of technologies to enable resource recovery and reuse in the water sector and the deployment of these technologies to maximise benefit
How UKWIR themes relate to UN Sustainable Development Goals
Examples of our research publications
Update on non-acoustic leak detection and location
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Prioritisation of circular economy research opportunities for the UK & Irish water industry
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Converting Sewage Sludge to Biochar - A Review of Options & Feasibility
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For each of our themes we have developed a mission and aims, which we have aligned to the UKWIR Big Questions and linked to the UN Sustainable Development Goals to reflect their global applicability.
Helping to address the big questions
BQ1 - How do we halve Freshwater Abstractions in a Sustainable way by 2050?
BQ11 - How do we embed and maximise a sustainable circular economy within the water sector by 2050?
BQ2 - How will we achieve zero leakage in a sustainable way by 2050?