Materials are recycled into new items whenever possible once a product’s useful life has expired. Each time they are productively put to use, more value is created.
The circular economy is a paradigm of production and consumption that focuses on extending the useful life of current items and resources by sharing, leasing, repairing, refurbishing, and recycling them. Products’ useful lives are thereby prolonged, which means doing all possible to minimise the amount of garbage generated in the real world.
What are the advantages?
Saving money and lowering greenhouse gas emissions are possible outcomes of waste avoidance, ecodesign, and recycling. Currently, 45% of global CO2 emissions are attributed to everyday commodities.
Moving towards more circular economies can reduce environmental impact, improve raw material supply security, promote competitiveness, stimulate innovation, and increase GDP by 0.5% while creating new employment (700,000 jobs in the EU alone by 2030).
As a result, consumers will enjoy a better quality of life and save money in the long run, thanks to new and improved products.
Specifically, what is the European Union doing to implement circular economies?
In March 2020, the European Commission unveiled the circular economies’ action plan, which intends to encourage more sustainable product design, decrease waste, and empower consumers, for example, by implementing a right to repair. Industries that use many resources like electronics, ICT, plastics, textiles, and construction are targeted.
There will be an EU-wide vote on a new circular economies resolution in February 2021. The resolution calls for further measures such as stricter recycling requirements to help us reach a carbon-free, ecologically sustainable, toxic-free economy by 2050.
For the circular action plan, which was launched in March 2022, the Commission announced the first set of actions in March. Sustainable products are promoted, customers are empowered to make the green shift, and building product rules are reviewed.
You are moving away from the take-make-use-dispose economic paradigm and toward a circular economy. Many inexpensive and readily available materials and energy are required in this paradigm. A product’s lifespan is intentionally shortened to attract customers to repurchase it in this business strategy. That is why the European Parliament has asked for action to stop this practice from happening any longer.
Sustainability
On its face, circular economies appear to be more environmentally friendly than the current linear economy. Reducing waste and leakage and the number of resources consumed saves money and reduces environmental damage. Assumptions such as this one, according to some critics, are too simple; they overlook the complexity of current systems and the trade-offs they may have. However, the social dimension of sustainability appears to be mostly ignored in many economy articles. A new piece of equipment that is more energy-efficient could be required in certain situations. There are at least eight different types of relationships between sustainability and the economy based on a survey of the literature. Furthermore, innovation is a critical component of long-term growth based on the economic components.
Scope
Circular economies are capable of being applied in a variety of contexts. Researchers looked into a wide range of issues, including product-oriented industrial applications, natural resources and services, practice and policies, and strategic management for details of the circular economies and various outcomes, such as potential reuse applications and waste management.
Products, infrastructure, equipment, and services are part of the circular economy, which applies to all industries. Minerals, metals, and fossil fuels are only a few examples of this category’s ‘technical’ resources. Most schools of thought promote renewable energy in place of fossil fuels and stress the need for variety in building resilient and long-lasting systems. According to research, modularisation might be essential for making circular economies and sustainable energy infrastructure.
