The circular economy is a concept that has been gaining more attention over the last two decades as we became increasingly aware of the challenge of moving away from the ‘take-make-dispose’ economy. Taking materials from the earth destroys our ecosystems, creates waste and causes greenhouse emissions.

Throughout history, people have destroyed the environment for farming and to create habitats. Deforestation is nothing new and it has been happening for thousands of years. However, as the capitalism started to be adopted from the 1800s, we started producing, trading and consuming more at a much faster rate. This led to greater wealth and improved lives but also more reliance on land to produce more and more. The idea of ‘economic growth’ spread globally since the adoption of capitalism and the aspiration to live wealthier lives became government policy everywhere. More production led to more consumption led to more destruction of ecosystems globally. The pace that it has happened throughout the 20^th century has occurred at an alarming rate. The impact this has had on greenhouse gas emissions and climate change are alarming.

It has become clearer to economists, scientists and policy makers all over the world that the resources of the world are finite, and we have not considered enough the ecological limits of our world economy. What lifestyles are possible for us to live when the world has only so many resources?

One solution that has gained popularity internationally, as a way of marrying our aspirations for a good life whilst maintaining our ecological system, is promoting the circular economy. In a circular economy, resources taken from the environment would keep on circulating resources for multiple uses before returning to the environment.  This would mimic our ecological system in the sense that ecosystem produces without making any waste and does not reduce resources. Think of a tree…a tree grows leaves, flowers and fruit. These fall to the ground and either eaten by animals or rot and become nutrients for the soil, which in turn helps the tree to grow again. The tree produces and consumes without creating any waste. In an in circular economy, this is how we would be using resources to produce and consume. This would mean changing our ‘take-make-dispose’ economy, which takes resources from the environment and creates waste, and replace it by reusing, recycling and recovering resources in our production-consumption cycle.

What are the 9 Rs of the circular economy?

The ‘9 Rs’ are behaviours associated with creating a more circular economy and keeping materials in use for as long as possible:

Refuse: Make product redundant by abandoning its function or by offering the same function with a radically different product. Refusing something could be turning down freebies given out that you don’t particularly want or need. This entices you into further unnecessary consumption and produces more waste that cannot be recycled.  

Rethink: Make product use more intensive by sharing a product. This could be something like car-pooling and making more of shared transport such as public transport.

Reduce: Increase efficiency in product manufacture or use by consuming fewer natural resources and materials. The products we use in the future are likely to be designed more carefully and efficiently as governments around the world encouraging firms to be more efficient.

Reuse: Reuse by another consumer of discarded product which is still in good condition and fulfils its original function. Typical things that are reused are reusable bottles, reusable coffee cups and reusable shopping bags.

Repair: Repair and maintenance of defective product so it can be used with its original function. This would repair your existing things so they last longer before you dispose of them. If you are not good at repairing, there are Repair cafés popping up all over the world and there could be one near you. These are run by volunteers that can fix a range of things for free.

Refurbish: Restore an old product and bring it up to date. Examples of this are upcycled products such has old furniture and electronic goods.

Re-manufacture: Use parts of discarded product or its parts in a new product with the same function. This avoids using new materials and energy needed to make a new product by 85%.

Re-purpose: Use discarded product or its parts in a new product with a different function.

Recycle: Process materials to obtain the same (high grade) or lower quality (low grade). Products made out of recycled materials have a lower carbon footprint.

Recover: Incineration of material to turn into energy for heating or electricity.

How can we incorporate the circular economy in our life?

…eating and drinking

When it comes to eating a drinking, the most important things to remember from a circular economy perspective is the packaging and food waste. When shopping for food, refuse offers such as ‘three for two’ or ‘buy one get one free’ which encourage over-consumption and waste. You can avoid packaging by buying loose fruits and vegetables. When you are eating at home, there are a few ways to reduce your food waste. There are easy ways to compost food waste, such as a hot composter which quickly turns food waste into compost using heat or you can avoid buying too much food that you end up putting in the bin. If you are going out, you can refuse to use single use items such as bottles, cups and straws and have your own reusable ones.

…clothing

Clothing is a big problem for the planet as most textiles are not recycled. Making use of the circular economy in your wardrobe not only saves the planet but also saves you money as well. Buy clothes that are designed to last longer. It is better to buy from brands that make clothes from durable material and have a system in place for resale, rental, repair and remaking services instead of fast fashion labels.

Make use of renting options on the internet. There are many companies that rent clothes for special occasions. There are increasing amounts of options to rent out baby and children’s clothes. Think about how much you need to wear an item of clothing. If you only need something occasionally, it is better to think of a renting option. A widely shared statistic about our wardrobe states we wear 20% of our wardrobe 80% of the time. Another way to engage with the circular economy and widen your wardrobe at a lower cost is to make use of vintage shops and charity shops. When you want to throw clothes away, there are other options than just throwing it in the bin. You can resell them on the internet and there are charity shops that will take most usable clothing.

…travelling

The circular economy emphasises sharing and reusing. In transport, this means we should make the most of public transport, cycling and car renting. Cars are stationary for 90% of their lifetime, therefore, carpooling or renting cars makes a lot of sense as well as being good for your budget.