Our current economic system can be considered a linear economy, built on a model of extracting raw materials from nature, turning them into products, and then discarding them as waste.
Currently, only 7.2 percent of used materials are cycled back into our economies after use. This has a significant burden on the environment and contributes to the climate, biodiversity and pollution crises.
Circular economy, on the other hand, aims to minimize waste and promote a sustainable use of natural resources, through smarter product design, longer use, recycling and more, as well as regenerate nature.
Besides helping tackle the problem of pollution, circular economy can play a critical role in solving other complex challenges such as climate change and biodiversity loss.
Examples
The first example most people think of when they think of circular economy is waste management, but circular economy is in fact so much more.
Circular economy approaches are all around us. They can be employed in a number of different sectors from textiles to buildings and construction, and at various stages of a product’s lifecycle, including design, manufacturing, distribution and disposal.
In textiles and fashion, there are initiatives that employ regenerative agriculture to produce organic cotton and other natural fibers, using natural colorings and dye, thus ensuring higher quality and safer garments for the health of consumers and the environment. By producing higher quality garments, clothing can also last longer, be repaired, thrifted and recycled.
In buildings and construction, circular solutions can include reducing virgin material use, re-using existing materials in circulation, or substituting carbon-intensive materials for regenerative alternatives such as timber.
In a circular economy, electronic goods are refurbished, water-soluble, recyclable and truly biodegradable packaging becomes the norm, and animal waste is used as natural fertilizers and processed into biogas for cooking, heating and lighting.
Importance to our planet
Estimates show that we are already using more than the available amount of Earth’s natural resources. If current trends were to continue, we would need three planets by 2050.
In the past two decades, material consumption has risen by over 65 percent globally, reaching 95.1 billion metric tons in 2019. By the same year, an estimated 13 percent of the food destined for human consumption was lost after harvesting and another 17 percent was wasted at the household, food service and retail levels.
The amount of electronic waste reached 7.3 kilograms per capita in 2019, and the majority is not managed in a sound way, harming the environment and our health.
For the survival and well-being of people and the planet, these statistics show us the importance of transforming the way we use and respect our finite resources. Studies show that, to return to safe limits of consumption, we need to reduce global material extraction and consumption by a third. Transitioning to a circular economy will be instrumental to achieving this.
Climate change
A circular economy is essential for fighting climate change.
Currently, material extraction and use amount to 70 percent of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. That means that if we want to significantly reduce emissions, we have to look at “hot spots” of unsustainable consumption and production in high-impact sectors such as industry, buildings and construction and agriculture.
Studies show us that, through efficient and more circular use of materials in just four key industrial materials (cement, steel, plastics, and aluminum), circular economy strategies can help reduce global GHG emissions by 40 percent by 2050. And if we also include circular approaches within the food system, we could achieve as much as 49 percent reductions in global GHG emissions overall. UNDP News
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