What is the circular economy and why is it important?

Sustainable development requires lavish changes in the way our societies and businesses are organi...

Sustainable development requires lavish changes in the way our societies and businesses are organized. The circular economy model offers a new chance for innovation and integration between natural ecosystems, businesses, our daily lives and waste management. 

But what exactly does the circular economy mean? And what would be its benefits? How does it differ from the current linear model? What if, instead of throwing away, we repaired, recycled, reused? 

Without further ado, we’ll explain the visionary trends of the circular economy below.

What is the circular economy?

The circular economy is an economic system in which raw materials, components and products lose as little value as possible. Specifically, it is about redesigning products to be more durable, reusable, repairable, recyclable and therefore kept in circulation as long as possible. In fact, a study of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation found that a circular economy development pathway could cut carbon dioxide emissions in half by 2030 .

What are the benefits of a circular economy?

A circular economy offers a wide range of social, economic and environmental benefits.

1.Protects the environment

By maximizing the life of our products and materials and eliminating waste, circularity reduces both our demand for raw materials and the environmental impact associated with obtaining them.

2. Keep products and materials in use

The circular economy promotes sustainable product design, reuse, remanufacturing and recycling to keep materials in circulation as long as possible. It is an economy that encourages many different uses of materials instead of just using them.

3. Regenerates living systems

The circular economy avoids the use of fossil fuels and non-renewable energy. By preserving and enhancing renewable resources, it returns valuable nutrients to the soil to promote regeneration and actively improve the environment.

4 Promotes job growth

The circular economy also offers social benefits, especially in low-income economies, as the integration of informal waste pickers into the formal waste collection provides job security and fair wages.

How is the circular economy different from the linear economy?

Up to now, we have linear production models, that is to say that we extract, produce, consume and discard .We live in a society that leads to an acceleration of the rate  of consumption, a rapid but not sustainable model for the planet.In a circular economy, as the name suggests, resources are kept in the economy as long as possible, which allows us to use the waste we produce as raw material for other industries.

  Ultimately, the circular economy is now recognized worldwide as the most promising solution to the sustainability challenges facing our planet. In order to mitigate the possible environmental consequences, it is necessary to minimize the production of waste and encourage the use of products, materials and resources that will remain in the economy as long as possible. 

This is simply a great opportunity, seize it!