Category:Circular Economy: Difference between revisions

The concept of the circular economy is based on the idea that products can be reused, and after reuse the materials can be reclaimed to enter again into the system of production. If all materials could be reused in this way, further extraction of raw materials would be needed only where more goods were in use. The concept thus aligns with the aim of long term sustainability, even where raw materials are becoming scarce.

Wikipedia defines the circular economy as "an economic system aimed at minimizing waste and making the most of resources".

The idea is also related to reflection on the cycles of nature. "The Circular Economy is based on the abundance of flows generated from our alignment with ecosystemic metabolisms. Put simply, we should be imitating natural cycles as closely as we possibly can. The Circular Economy holds the keys of positive perspectives about the future of business, the future of the environment and about our future as people. It depicts a world without waste, where unused resources will find a function in an economy that will regenerate itself while growing within our systemic boundaries"
— Alexandre Lemille [1]

Other people doubt the realism of this vision. For example, Kris De Decker, in How Circular is the Circular Economy (2018), gives a critical summary of the limitations of the Circular Economy, pointing out how modern manufacturing makes it difficult to imitate the recycling that nature performs.

Related Concepts

Wikipedia gives these as theoretical influences:

• Cradle-to-cradle design,
• Barry Commoner's laws of ecology, (1971)
• regenerative design,
• Industrial Ecology,
• Biomimicry and
• The Blue Economy (2010)

Learning Resources

Introductory

• Kris De Decker: How Circular is the Circular Economy (2018)
• Which European country is leading the circular economy shift?: (2018)

Deeper Study

• Our article on the Circular Economy
• Optimizing Circular Value (2017) by Alexandre Lemille
• Against wasted politics: A Critique of the Circular Economy. By Francisco Valenzuela and Steffen Böhm. Ephemera, volume 17(1): 23-60

Related Categories

• The Collaborative Economy and related concepts represent other attempts to design or envision an economic system that is not extractive.
• Regenerative Approaches