The concept of circular economy aims to reduce waste and pollution by keeping materials, products and resources in use for as long as possible, through iterative cycles of recovery and regeneration.(2) In contrast to the current linear system based on the take-make-use-dispose model, circular systems carefully consider what happens to materials and products at their end-of-life stage, when they are discarded or can no longer be re-used. While circular economy aims to decouple economic growth from the depletion of natural resources,(1) it is important to note that a true circular economy would need a radical paradigm change in our relationship to growth, as a growing system is inevitably linked to resource depletion.(3,4) Circular economy can only bring its intended environmental benefits if it is accompanied by fundamental cuts in global production and consumption rates, radically slowing down the overall throughput of materials and resources across all industries.
CIRCULAR ECONOMY
