SpheriCity

Funded by the National Science Foundation Convergence Accelerator Program, SpheriCity aims to optimize circularity, from the city up, transforming the linear consumption model of raw material extraction, production, use, and disposal that dominates the global economy. In Phase I of this project, a circularity path was connected and converged across multiple materials and scales in two large metropolitan areas. In Phase II, the newly updated and expanded CAP framework is converging circularity across plastics (exploring alternatives) and the built environment in eleven more cities. Phase II also expands this work by training local implementation partners, and further developing a novel dynamic data portal and large language model (LLM).

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Marquette, Michigan, USA

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Grand Island, Nebraska, USA

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Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

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Atlanta, GA, USA

Phase I Partners

Phase I Papers & Presentations

Bilec, M.M., Jambeck, J., Bell, N., Werner, M. (2023). “What are circular economies without community input? Advancing the Circularity Assessment Protocol (CAP).” 11th International Conference on Industrial Ecology (ISIE2023), Leiden, Amsterdam, July 2-5, 2023.

Brooks, Amy and Bell, Nicole and Jambeck, Jenna and Werner, Madison and Bilec, Melissa "Towards Evaluating the Circular Economy in the Built Environment: Insights from the Circularity Assessment Protocol (CAP)" Detritus, 2024 https://doi.org/10.31025/2611-4135/2024, 19444.

Bilec, M.M. (2024). “Research in Action: Science Diplomacy in Practice.” DWIHzeitgeist from UAS7 consortium, Series on science diplomacy. February 1, 2024, virtual.

Jambeck, J.R. “Stories from Sea to Source: Reducing Plastics in our Environment,” Vanderbilt University College of Engineering Hall Lecture, April 30, 2024.

Brooks, A., Bell, N., Jambeck, J., Werner, M., Bilec, M.M. (2024). “Towards a Community-Based Assessment of Circular Construction & Demolition Debris Management.” SUM 2024, 7th Symposium on Circular Economy and Urban Mining, May 15-17, 2024, Capri, Italy.

Bell, N., Brooks, A., Jambeck, J., Werner, M., Bilec, M.M. (2024). “Advancing community scale transitions to a circular economy in the construction and demolition sector using the Circularity Assessment Protocol.” International Symposium on Sustainable Systems and Technology (ISSST) 2024 Conference, June 18-20, 2024, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.

Bilec, M.M. (2024). “Designing for circularity across scales.” Cell Symposia: A circular economy for the chemical sector. CELL Press and UKRI Interdisciplinary Centre for Circular Chemical Economy, July 22 -24, 2024, Cardiff, Wales.

Masalegooyan, Z., Jambeck, J.R., Werner, M., Mozo-Reyes, E, Maddalene, T, Breen, M, Mathis, J, Brooks, A. “Sphericity, Circularity Assessment Protocol in Cities: A Systematic Tool for Managing Plastic Pollution: Insights from Atlanta,” PLASYS, 2-4 Oct. 2024, Rhodes, Greece.

‍Phase I - NSF Convergence Accelerator Track I: A Tale of Two Cities Optimizing Circularity from Molecules to the Built Environment (NSF Award: 2236080): Abstract
‍Faculty: Dr. Jenna Jambeck (PI), Dr. Melissa Bilec (Co-PI), Dr. Christina Fuller (Senior Personnel), Dr. Jason Locklin (Co-PI), Dr. Eric Beckman (Co-PI)
Staff/Students: Madison Werner, Dr. Amy Brooks, Dr. Taylor Maddalene, Kathryn Youngblood, Nicole Bell, Alana Masont Guenther (UGA), Sophie Kim (UGA), Swati Chauhan (UGA), Waverly Wadsworth (UGA), Rafeala Goncalves de Almeida (Pitt), Martha Miskanic (Pitt)

Phase II Partners

Phase II Papers & Presentations

Panel at Innovate4Cities (Co-hosted by the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy and UN-Habitat), “Making cities circular: strategies, practices, and tools for resource efficiency,” led by Maddalene, T. (presenting on CAP and SpheriCity) with panelists Jennifer Wendt, Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative Plastic Waste Reduction Campaign Manager (SpheriCity partner) and Brittany Sellers, Asst. Director, Office of Sustainability and Resilience, City of Orlando, Sept 10-12, 2024, Montreal, Canada.

Jambeck, J.R., Werner, M., Bilec, M.M., Maddalene, T, Bell, N., Brooks, A., Masalegooyan, Z., Locklin, J., Fuller, C., Youngblood, K. (presenter), “Circularity Assessment Protocol (CAP) and SpheriCity,” 49th International Solid Waste Association (ISWA) World Congress, Sept 15-18, 2024, Cape Town, South Africa.

Jambeck, J.R. “Stories from Sea to Source: Reducing Plastics in our Environment,” F. Russell Cole Distinguished Lecture in Environmental Studies, Colby College, Oct 22, 2024.

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Phase II - NSF Convergence Accelerator Track I: SpheriCity -- Circularity from Molecules to the Built Environment in Communities (NSF Award: 2345080): Abstract‍
‍Faculty: Dr. Jenna Jambeck (PI), Dr. Melissa Bilec (Co-PI), Dr. Christina Fuller (Co-PI), Dr. Jason Locklin (Co-PI), Dr. Tahiya Chowdhury (Partner), Dr. Grace Ahn (Partner)
‍Staff/Students: Dr. Amy Brooks (Pitt), Dr. Taylor Maddalene (UGA), Madison Werner (UGA), Kathryn Youngblood (UGA), Jill Blackmon (UGA), Zeinab Masalegooyan (UGA), Scott Guenther (UGA), Sophie Kim (UGA), Swati Chauhan (UGA), Waverly Wadsworth (UGA), Rafeala Goncalves de Almeida (Pitt), Martha Miskanic (Pitt)