The idea for this book was firstly conceived during a wet but not so cold afternoon in Bergen, Norway by the end of November 2016. I (Antonis) had been invited to make a lecture on the fourth industrial revolution and the future of waste management by Avfall Norge, the national member of ISWA in Norway, and after my lecture I got involved in a very interesting discussion with Toralf Igesund, head of planning at BIR, Bergen's waste management company. The discussion was so interesting that we decided to continue it in a nice but rather dark coffee shop, few blocks behind the Radisson hotel in Bergen. Since then, and for the next four years, the idea for this book was getting more mature but also more difficult, because the fourth industrial revolution was unfolding so fast and, at the same time, the circular economy narrative was actually reshaping the waste management policies. But by September 2019, the final decision was made to proceed with a book, although not with the same content we were imagining in 2016. The decision was to combine the fourth industrial revolution with circular economy and try to portray the new landscape that is formulated not only for the waste sector but also for the whole world. In this crucial moment, Toralf introduced me to Anders Waage Nilsen, a business developer, design strategist, investor, technology columnist, and public speaker, who likes the combination of big ideas and hands‐on practical work. After some minutes of discussion, we easily concluded that the book will be written by me and Anders, although Toralf has also contributed a lot with ideas and information.

Writing this book was a great adventure for both of us, a trip to the unknown, which seems to be known but is not, a rush through the Symplegades rocks. On the one side the anxiety and the responsibility to keep the deadlines – on the other side the anxiety and the responsibility to write something good enough, well documented, and valuable.

The completion of this book in time was an achievement. As all human achievements, it is by definition imperfect. But we also went further than we expected, discovering things about science, and ourselves, that we did not know. In this effort, we had the pleasure to work with Nick Rigas, a very creative designer who takes deadlines very seriously. Nick was not only patient enough to manage several cycles of changes and corrections, but he also contributed substantially with his visual creativity to the final outcome and the graphics of this book. Without his contribution, the book would be less interesting and certainly, less visually attractive.

Writing this book, we had in mind that we have to express our opinion, as Gustave Flaubert suggested: “The art of writing is the art of discovering what you believe.” The result is now in your hands or in your screens and you will make your own evaluation about the book – from our side, we hope that you will enjoy it and find it useful.

How to Cite This Book:

To cite this book, please use the following format:

Industry 4.0 and Circular Economy: Towards a Wasteless Future or a Wasteful Planet?, Antonis Mavropoulos, Anders Waage Nilsen, 9781119699279, © 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.