The Geometry of the Circular Economy

The fundamental shift in the architecture of economic activity brought about by the circular economy is increasingly taking on the contours of a distinct geometric dimension. It's not just thinking and the habits of producers and consumers that are being transformed—the spatial architecture of waste flows themselves is changing: from the micro level of packaging, forms, and tools for municipal solid waste collection to the macro level of urban arteries, rethinking ergonomics, and installing production lines along which waste moves. Geometry is no longer a metaphor or discipline—it's becoming a working tool in shaping a culture of responsible behavior among producers and consumers and justifying technical and economic proposals in interdisciplinary circular economy projects in an era of rapid artificial intelligence (AI) development.

The geometry of packaging: why shape matters

The fate of packaging on the sorting line is largely predetermined by its shape. Flat, flexible containers—film, bags, wrappers—pose the main problem for optical scanners. They're difficult to identify and even harder to separate precisely using air jets. Rigid, three-dimensional packaging—bottles, cans, trays—sorts far more efficiently. Multi-layer packaging like beverage cartons, composed of cardboard, aluminum, and plastic, has remained a stumbling block for recyclers for decades.

The response to this challenge has been the convergence of two strategies:

• Simplifying geometry and rethinking the composition of the material itself.
• Implementing digital marking that allows equipment to "see" through the form.

The "Holy Grail 2.0" project, which brought together brands and technology companies, demonstrated that digital watermarks—invisible marks applied across the entire surface of packaging—deliver sorting accuracy of approximately 90% and higher even in challenging industrial conditions, with contamination and material overlap. During trials at the Hündgen facility in Germany, detection efficiency ranged from 86.7% to 93.6%.