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The circular economy is a production system that promotes the recycling and reuse of materials throughout the entire process. A circular economy refers to a production system that utilizes more recycling and reusable concepts at each stage. It can mean many things depending on the specific industry that employs its concepts, but its ideal form is reusing all materials used in the production of materials and goods in a way that minimizes waste.
A circular economy can help reduce greenhouse gases and mitigate the effects of climate change around the world. Here are four more specific benefits of adopting this concept on a global scale:
1. Reduces Non-Renewable Energy Use
It's simply unsustainable to keep using materials such as oil and metal ores at the rate we are now. These are finite resources that, until asteroid mining became viable, are the only ones we have. Refurbishing or reusing old products, instead of throwing them away, is a way to mitigate this pending disaster.
2. Lowers Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Producing new products in many industries requires the use of non-renewable materials and in many cases spouts greenhouse gases into the air. The more the reuse of products and materials is normalized, the lower greenhouse gas emissions can become. According to the European Environment Agency, the production and disposal of materials contributes to as much as two-thirds of all global greenhouse gas emissions.
3. Zero Waste
In a perfect circular economy, there are no waste products to damage the environment or cause cost overruns. All efforts at creating a circular economy are aimed at a system that produces no waste.
4. Products and Jobs Last Longer
Circular economies shun practices like planned obsolescence, causing consumer products to last longer. It would also mean a shift in the job economy from non renewable resources like coal extraction to renewable resources, which promise to keep providing income far into the future.
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