How Can Circular Economy Models Help Address the Global Waste Crisis?

A Global Waste Crisis

Remember the last time you bought and threw something within a few months? This is not just about you, but most people on this planet frequently dispose of waste in their daily routines and work industries. Annually, approximately 2.12 billion tons of waste is disposed of on this planet, making it a major cause of pollution by deteriorating the lands and air. 

Global waste production is exceeding the earth’s capability to tolerate waste consumption for the long term, as we have already surpassed 75% of the earth’s waste absorption capacity. It is also estimated that in the next 25 years, waste production will increase by up to 70%. 

The traditional linear economy model prevents recycling and disposes of products immediately after use and contributes to excessive waste production, with an economic impact of wasted resources, the social effect of killing about a million people annually, and the environmental impact of water contaminated with plastic, spilling of substances in the soil and polluting the air.

However, the circular economy model presents a solution to break the “take, make, waste cycle.” This model focuses on ‘’make, use, recycle’’, so let’s delve deeper into the circular economy benefits and how it contributes to waste minimization. 

What is a Circular Economy Model?

The Circular economy model serves as a sustainable approach through its goal of extending the lifecycle of a product through its maintenance, reuse, refurbishment, remanufacture, recycling, and composting. This recycling and reuse model promotes a constant cycle of extracting resources from the already existing materials and preventing the use of non-renewable resources. 

This differs from the traditional linear economic model which encourages resource wastage by producing new goods through natural resources, without taking any measures regarding sustainable production, selling the products derived at high costs, and eventually throwing them away after a few uses. 

The key principles of circular economy are reducing waste through crafting products with sustainable raw materials, reusing materials instead of disposing of them and making something new out of them, and recycling renewable resources to make something better as they are being depleted rapidly. 

The circular economy model emphasizes creating a closed-loop system, in which the products never enter the waste material phase by being dumped instead they are continuously reused resulting in decreased carbon emissions, reduced need for natural resources, and promoting more eco-friendly practices, ultimately minimizing the environmental harm. 

Waste Reduction Through Resource Efficiency

At its core, the circular economy models are all about prioritizing resource efficiency by designing products that last longer alleviating the demand for purchasing alternatives, using fewer nonrenewable resources to compose a product thereby reducing their negative impacts on the environment, and generating less waste by maximizing the extraction of useful resources from a waste product and creating something new out of it. 

Let’s take a look a examples of companies that have redesigned their products to reduce waste:

• Apple: Apple has introduced a Trade-In program, where you can return your phones that are of no use anymore. Instead of disposing of them, apple extracts aluminum from these products which is one of the major materials they need for manufacturing, and creates new devices with this recycled material.

Along with that, apple also contributes to reducing global waste by preserving gold, cobalt, tungsten, and rare earth elements from its devices and reusing them as well. 

• Unilever: Unilever recycles plastic in its packaging, and along with that it is also moving towards waste minimization by using refill stations to supply its products and also considering other materials like paper for its packaging. 
• H&M: A fashion clothing brand, has also started an initiative considering the global waste crisis. The Let Close the Loop program of H&M allows customers to give back already worn clothes instead of throwing them away and depending on the situation, the brand either recycles, reuses, or sells them as re-wear material. 

Recycling and Reuse as Key Strategies

In the Circular Economy Models, the two key components are recycling and reusing the products. Circular economies recycle materials to ensure waste minimization and protection of the virgin resources and reuse of the already purchased materials by designing a new product out of them and utilizing the essential resources present in them.  

Case studies: Recycling programs in countries like Sweden or Japan, and their role in reducing municipal waste come under a few circular economy examples. Let’s explore more! 

• Sweden has turned more than half of the house waste produced into energy and it has also introduced a Pant System that encourages people to provide use plastic bottles back to the government in return for money. 

Sweden has also introduced a new law system that makes it mandatory for people to separate their food waste as can be used as an alternative to fossil fuels.

• Japan has introduced a new rule for its home appliances manufacturers to recycle and reuse material from already used machinery and nonrenewable materials derived from electronic appliances such as gold and copper were also used in the creation of medals for the Olympics. 

Promoting Sustainable Production and Consumption

The Circular economy models encourage businesses to adopt sustainable production methods by focusing on biodegradable materials for production so their breakdown results in no negative impacts on the environment,  using renewable materials to benefit from an unlimited supply and recyclable materials that can be used to reinvent more products.  

A few examples of firms where sustainable production is making an impact such as the fashion retail Patagonia uses eco-friendly products such as organic cotton to manufacture its products and has introduced the Worn Wear model that aligns with the reuse and recycling, principles of Circular Economy Models.

Patagonia also reuses plastic fishing nets to create fashion wear such as sweaters. In this way, the oceans remain free of plastic and Patagonia gets the opportunity to craft something worthy out of the used material. 

The Role of Consumers in the Circular Economy

The Circular economy models serve as a holistic approach to reducing global waste but businesses alone cannot make them effective and they require combined efforts of both the firms and changes in consumer behavior, with a focus on responsible consumption, repair, and reuse.

As a consumer, here is how you can put your effort into reducing the global waste crisis. 

• You can choose sustainable products, most of them are certified by Fair Trade, which is a movement that aligns the export of products with environmental standards. 
• Support companies on a mission to zero waste. You can research them on the internet, and study their land spill percentages and carbon emission percentages. You can also consider the company by analyzing its plastic-free packaging or having refill stations to promote no use of packaging. 
• You also need to put an effort into reducing single-use items. 
• Another crucial step that you can take is making the best out of your already used items. You can donate items to brands that are running campaigns regarding waste minimization and allow them to generate beneficial items from them. 

Circular Economy in Waste Management Systems

Waste management systems can integrate circular economy principles by emphasizing the following factors including: 

•  Sorting: Precisely extracting the materials and classifying them according to their composition. This step ensures that materials like plastics and metals are free from any harmful substances and are free of waste matter. 
• Composting: Provides nutrients to the soil for fostering better plant growth. Leaves and food scraps can be recycled into fertilizers and promote healthier soil. In this way, this organic material instead of being dumped and producing toxic substances can serve as a useful source for the environment. 
• Resource recovery: Through resource recovery, waste management systems can extract materials and conserve fossil fuels that are required to produce new raw materials. 

Let’s take a look at examples of waste management companies that have successfully adopted circular strategies to improve waste recovery rates.

Veolia is a company well known for its operations in Sustainable waste management and water preservation. It reuses materials such as glass and plastics to decrease the landfills. Food materials thrown away are also used to enrich the land by producing fertilizers.

They also operate water recycling plants that purify wastewater for using it in the agricultural and industrial sectors. 

Barriers to Circular Economy Adoption

There are several challenges faced by businesses and governments in transitioning from a linear to a circular economy, that act as hurdles in making the most out of circular economy benefits. These include:

• The need for a massive transformation in the manufacturing processes. This requires financial support and is a time-consuming process as well. 
• The cost of redesigning supply chains is another issue as reinvesting into crafting the products, and their designs, and sourcing recyclable materials may not guarantee a quick return on investment. 
• The need for stronger recycling infrastructure in some areas restricts them from recycling useful material. Sorting and resource recovery requires proper systems and their unavailability leads to spilling the waste on land and pure water. 

However, regulatory frameworks and financial incentives can help overcome these barriers. The government can implement laws for businesses to produce recycled products and offer them opportunities to collect these products and reuse them for better purposes. 

Providing incentives is also a way to move towards Sustainable waste management by assisting businesses in shifting their whole stock to eco-friendly materials. The government can also offer financial support for developing countries, to invest in waste recycling machinery and play a part in reducing global waste.

The Environmental and Economic Benefits of Circular Economies

When it comes to discussing the circular economy benefits, we can say that these recycling and reuse models are the ultimate solution to the ongoing global waste crisis.

Circular economy models lead to reduced greenhouse gas emissions by recycling the material and eliminating the demand for new raw materials. The environmental pollution levels decrease as plastics and other waste materials are not disposed of in landfills and a more efficient use of natural resources is made. 

The economic benefits of Circular economy models include

•  Cost savings for businesses as there is no need to dispose of the waste anymore,
•  Job creation in the recycling and remanufacturing sectors as tons of waste are generated and numerous workers are needed to sort out the recycled material
• Long-term resilience as a business is self-sufficient in the materials sorted out from the waste instead of depending on imported raw materials.

The Role of Policy in Supporting the Circular Economy

As we discussed above, government policies can accelerate the shift toward circular economies by incentivizing recycling, regulating waste management, and encouraging corporate responsibility.

Let’s take a look at one of the successful policies, such as the European Union’s Circular Economy Action Plan.

The European Union’s Circular Economy Action Plan focuses on various industries such as textile, packaging, vehicles, constructions, and buildings and aims to spread circulatory work across all these departments. The plan promotes reducing global waste and wants to shift towards 100% recyclable packaging by the next six years. 

Conclusion

Implementing the circular economy model serves as a great opportunity for reducing waste. Recycling and refurbishing products are major changes that can contribute to waste minimization. From technology, and fashion to automotive, every industry is playing its part in managing the ongoing global waste crisis.

However, mutual efforts are needed to efficiently leverage the circular economy model. Along with businesses, consumers should also transform towards eco-conscious shopping patterns and consider businesses that ensure sustainable production of the products being offered. 

The concept of circular economy models is not only restricted to the betterment of the earth, but it serves as an exceptional chance to raise the economy and better health outcomes of individuals. This model still struggles to gain a proper place in several economies where shifting the supply chain to green logistics requires a huge investment which can be made possible by government funding programs. 

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