From a Linear to a Circular Economy: a new progress model

By Paula Agustina Campos *

According to a recent report by the British organization Verisk Maplecroft [1], more than 2.1 billion tons of waste is produced each year on the world and only 16% of it is recycled.

As the population grows and the negative environmental impact of resource extraction increases, our linear economic model is going beyond its limits.

This type of economy is based on a “take-make-dispose” model. This means that raw materials are taken from earth natural resources, then transformed into products (by a manufacturing process) that are used until they are finally discarded as waste.

There are several problems on this model. One is the amount of waste generated in the different stages of production and the other problem is that a linear, infinite increase in production and prosperity is simply not possible in a world with finite resources.

 Recycling is not the answer to waste from an efficient point of view because we are not able to properly separate all waste. Furthermore, the world is in a situation where too much waste has already been produced so recycling is not enough to solve the problem.

Circular economy, by contrast, aims to keep products at their highest utility and value, by promoting a sustainable economic model where waste generated in the different stages of production can be reinserted and used as resources in the production system. In this way, we can extract fewer natural resources from the planet and reduce CO2 emissions.

But… What exactly is the Circular Economy model?

The Circular Economy is the use of waste as a raw material to make new products. To understand this concept, it is necessary to see it as a system that involves all actors of the productive stages.

The model aims to reduce the extractive activity of natural resources and reintroduce the waste generated in all stages of production. Moreover, it attempts to change people’s behavior and consumption habits.

It is based on four principles:

•         Reduce
•         Re-use
•         Repair
•         Recycle

Therefore, for a sustainable circular economy it’s necessary to redesign products to make them be repairable or upgradeable. Products must be designed in a way that after their usage is finished you can take them apart and get back down to the component parts of the product and get back to the raw materials that made it.

So that you retrieve the raw materials from the products rather than extracting new raw materials. A sustainable circular economy is the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

This concept is closely linked to what article 41 of the Argentine National Constitution pursues which  grants to everybody the right to a to a sustainable development:

All inhabitants are entitled to the right to a healthy and balanced environment fit for human development in order that productive activities shall meet present needs without endangering those of future generations; and shall have the duty to preserve it. As a first priority, environmental damage shall bring about the obligation to repair it according to law.

 

How do we get a circular economy?

The European Union is pioneer in the application of regulations related to a circular economy. For example, recently the European Commission has adopted a new Circular Economy Action Plan [2] that introduces legislative and non-legislative measures along the entire life cycle of products, targeting their design, promoting circular economy processes and fostering sustainable consumption.

Some of the new Circular Economy Action presents measures to:

•  Make sustainable products the norm in the EU;
•   Empower consumers and public buyers;
•   Focus on the sectors that use most resources and where the potential for circularity is high such as: electronics and ICT; batteries and vehicles; packaging; plastics; textiles; construction and buildings; food; water and nutrients.
•  Make circularity work for people, regions and cities,

On the other side, in Argentina, the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development is working on the implementation of a waste management policy based on separation at source, reduction and recycling,

An average of 45,000 tons of solid urban waste is generated per day, which is equivalent to one ton of garbage every two seconds [3]. 

For instance, the commitment assumed after the repeal of Argentine Decree 591/19, tends to reduce imports of raw materials and increase the local supply of industrial inputs from waste.

Within the ministry, the National Circular Economy technical work table is calling for representatives from different sectors to integrate sub-work tables to promote the recovery of waste generated in our country.

Moreover, there are also many industries and companies adapting their production to a more sustainable economy. For example, the fashion industry is a sector with a high environmental impact associated with large consumption of water and energy, use of chemical substance, water and air pollution, waste production and microplastic generation.

Against this background, in Holland business like MUD Jeans [4] has implemented the circular economy model by renting and recycling jeans instead of selling them.

Jeans are one of the most polluting items in fashion. Using 7.000 liters of water and chemicals.

In MUD Jeans, clothes are made from organic cotton without pesticides and processed with minimal water. At the end of the rental, the jeans are fully recycled. It is a business based on use and not on the ownership of things.

Conclusions about the circular economy

Finally, we can see that a more sustainable progress model is feasible for us, but it needs to take actions now and increases initiatives or socio-economic activities more efficient in the use of resources to change not only the way of producing but also the consumption habits of today’s society.

 

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* The author is cofounder of Eco Derecho. Her Linkedin profile.

 

Bibliography

•         The Economy of Green Cities. 2013
•         Sustainability, the Circular Economy and Consumer Law in Germany. Journal of European Consumer and Market Law, Vol. 9, Issue 4 (August 2020), pp. 168-172.
•         Closing the Loop: The European Union & the Circular Economy. SciTech Lawyer, Vol. 15, Issue 4 (Summer 2019), pp. 4-9.

References

[1] www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-48914734

[2] EU Circular Economy Action Plan. https://ec.europa.eu/

[3] www.argentina.gob.ar/ambiente

[4] www.mudjeans.eu