What is a circular economy?

Before we dive into the circular economy, we must look at the linear economy first. This is what our economy currently is. It’s about the linear process of a product or material– make, use, waste, repeat. It’s a linear process because the product starts out being made, and then, after we use it, gets dumped somewhere else completely. 

Now that we know where we are, let’s look at the circular economy– where we hope to go.

A circular economy focuses on extending the product’s life.

A circular economy focuses on extending a product’s life through different avenues: sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing, and recycling (European Parliament). Extending a product’s life prevents it from going to the landfill, preventing waste and the need to produce and consume more and more. It’s a domino effect. Well, in fact, it’s a circular effect.

A circular economy reduces waste thrown into the landfill.

By reusing a product or its parts in various ways, we are reducing the amount of waste entering the landfill. A circular economy sees the product as a resource to continually be used, “turn[ing] goods that are at the end of their service life into resources for others, closing loops in industrial ecosystems and minimizing waste” (Stahel, 2016).

The circular economy is about reducing the waste ending up in the landfill by continuing to use items for a longer period of time, therefore “replacing production with sufficiency (Stahel, 2016). 

A circular economy adds value to the finished product.

If you see what you own as non-disposable but repairable, wouldn’t you strive to take care more care of your things? Take true ownership and pride in your belongings? Wouldn’t you strive to buy higher quality from then on out, instead of things you could throw away after three uses? And if you decide to dispose of some of your belongings, whether renting out or repairing to sell or just giving away, wouldn’t you want your belongings to add value to someone else’s life? Or, if you take apart the things that you own and the pieces are reused in several different ways– wouldn’t those parts also be resources, therefore, adding value to the next products?

Those are a lot of questions. Maybe you are looking at some things you own and finding it very hard to picture that piece of plastic as something else (don’t worry, I’ve been there and done that, and it’s not completely our fault… see below for more about planned obsolescence).

A circular economy requires a mindset shift in everyone’s thinking, starting with the consumer. We, as the consumers, have to first thoughtfully consume high-quality products made of high-quality and ethically-sourced materials that can be used and reused (or its parts can be reused and redistributed) for a long period of time. This emphasis leads into the next point.

A circular economy prevents the production of waste.

The circular economy stops “waste being produced in the first place”, according to the Ellen Macarthur Foundation. This means that we are going against the linear economy’s planned obsolescence, or the purposeful making of low-quality products to force us to buy new and trash the old. The low-quality products prevent any hope of recycling, reusing, or repairing that the circular economy calls for.

So, not only is a circular economy completely going against the status quo, but it is also asking to rebuild the status quo with higher quality items that can last longer and be repaired to last even longer. 

A circular economy creates more jobs.

What if a shift to a circular economy creates more specialized jobs? If we want to be better users of our products, and better consumers, then wouldn’t we need more local tradesmen, repairmen, and customer service providers to repair/maintain the old goods, buildings, or infrastructure? Wouldn’t we need better-trained merchandisers/buyers to secure more high-quality products in stores, more open-minded marketers to promote high-quality and long-lasting products, and more salespeople who encourage the customer to make better consumption choices from the start? Wouldn’t we need more HR employees to address all this?

Yes, yes, and yes.

A circular economy addresses climate change head on.

Shifting the focus away from production will reduce the need of production, therefore reducing greenhouse gases created by this production reduction (wow, that was a lot of rhyming and repeating there). 

Resource scarcity is looming and becoming even more of a threat with each passing day. A circular economy secures resources, seeing materials as “assets to be preserved, rather than continually consumed”. This promotes conservation, not biodiversity loss and pollution. This conservation of material prevents the need for excessive manufacturing while also preventing the usage of raw materials.

A circular economy requires a change in societal thinking.

I mentioned this briefly before– this shift in thinking. A shift to a circular economy cannot be done with the simple flip of a switch from “linear” to “circular”. Establishing a circular economy will take time and a complete reversal and retraining of our thought processes. We have to completely go against what culture and society has taught us to do– to take, make, and waste. 

We have to change how we manage our resources, how we use these resources to make high-quality products, and what we do with the finished products afterwards instead of merely disposing of them (Stahel, 2016). 

We can look to Austria as an example. They are leading in the used goods arena. Sure, everything outlined above takes time and money, but this country has adapted and focused on certain aspects that have proved successful, like utilizing taxation changes that promote reusing waste. Also, they have found that marketing the reuse of parts, rather than scrapping parts, actually helps recoup costs in the long run (Stahel, 2016)! Crazy to think that reusing costs less than trashing!

A circular economy challenges companies.

This shift in thinking must happen in not only consumers, but the companies that impact these consumers. The companies that consumers trust, and the influencers and marketers associated with these companies, must focus on this shift in mindset and business strategy in order for any change to come about. This communication must not be coming solely from scientific magazines or journals that consumers don’t often read. It is a group effort to shift this mindset towards a circular economy, and it is a combination of the following and beyond: scholarly journals, newspapers, on brand’s websites, in company’s processes, in organization’s messages, in schools, and in personal value systems. 

Resources:

Ellen MacArthur Foundation: https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/topics/circular-economy-introduction/overview

European Parliament: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/topics/en/article/20151201STO05603/circular-economy-definition-importance-and-benefits

Stahel, W. R. (2016). Circular economy. Nature, 531(7595), 435-438. https://doi.org/10.1038/531435a