WHAT IS CIRCULAR ECONOMY?

Circular. That's easy enough to imagine, right? It's a circle, going 'round and around, without a clear start or stop point.

Economy. Okay, it's a production, distribution and trade system we have created in our societies. A little bit more complex than a circle, but still relatively easy to grasp on.

But to put the two together - circular economy - what does that mean?

The easiest way to break down the idea of a circular economy is to compare it to the present economic system prefered around the globe - linear economy. 

Linear economy is also described as the take, make, dispose model. It's quite self-explonatary: we take raw materials, we make a product, and by the time we're done with it, we dispose it. As the economy grows, more raw material is needed and more waste is created. Our natural ecosystem is both the source of our raw materials, and the "sink" of our waste. Basically, it's becoming too much for our ecosystem to handle. Evidence for the unsustainability of this outdated system can be seen everywhere; growing landfills, mass production and pollution are some of the factors rushing our climate to change.

Circular economy wants to challenge this model by introducing a new one - make/remake -> use/reuse. The main principle is to radically limit the extraction of raw materials by repurposing used materials. It's inspired by the natural world: another species' waste is another's food, and energy is provided by the sun. Waste = food is the first of 4 principles that create the foundation of circular economy.

The second principle is to build resilience through diversity. In the man-made world this would mean nations or companies sharing their strengths and having a greater pool to get their resources from; by doing this, they would derive value and ensure greater biodiversity which would support them at a time of shock.

The third principle is to work with energy from renewable sources. This is an easy one - just think of harnessing energy from the sun, wind, water, biomass, all that sort of thing.

What if we could adopt this to the man-made world, and start living by natural principles? What if we rethink the whole system, and redesign our future by cycling valuable materials and products, and transport them with renewable energy?

I know - it's an ambitious task. As I mentioned in my last post, it's not an easy one either, as we need to think in systems (this is the 4th principle). It's not about the actions of an individual; or a private company; or even a whole country. It needs to be a joint effort, from all different parts of the world, sharing knowledge and repurposing materials across borders. 

We will come back to the challenges circular economy faces later, but let's focus on the potential of this shift in attitude & processes for a moment.

Imagine a world with less waste, quality products with stamina, more sharing, a whole system supporting communities and looking after each other, companies upping their game with corporate responsibility, shifting their focus from pure financial gain to cost reduction & new sources of revenue by adopting circular economy practices. Sounds pretty good, huh?

I think that's enough for today, and I hope everything I've shared makes sense to you. If you have any questions, please drop me a comment - I'm more than happy to discuss this further!

What do you think of the idea of circular economy?

 

P.S. If you're interested in learning more, I can highly recommend exploring the materials a great charity has been creating for everyone to study, Ellen MacArthur Foundation - you can find them here.

Anna x