Society currently functions under an economy that is linear. We harvest resources from the earth, make them into products and then dispose of the products when they break or when newer models come out. This system is problematic because we are harvesting too many resources too fast, and we are disposing of them in wasteful ways that do not allow for sustainable regeneration.
Fundamentally, this system is destined to reach a point at which there are no more resources to exploit. To every line, there is an end. And if that end hasn’t already come, it surely will in the near future, given that the world population is predicted to grow to over 9 billion people by 2040.
Quite simply, we are doomed for failure if we continue with the current linear economic system. What we need is a profound change of the system as a whole. What we need is circular economics.
According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, circular economics is a system based on three main principles: economic growth and human development need not be coupled with the consumption of finite resources; products and resources can remain in use instead of being thrown away; and degraded natural systems can be regenerated by primarily using renewable energies and responsibly using finite resources.
A key aspect of circular economics is that rather than being product-based, it is service-based. In such a system, consumers do not buy products from producers, but rather, customers receive services from providers. The economy shifts focus from the product to the labor, thus creating more jobs and using fewer resources.
For example, an individual would not buy a washing machine, but rather rent from a company the service of using one. When the washing machine eventually breaks, it would be returned to the company for repair and updates. Thus, the circle is completed. The company becomes responsible for the end life of its products, and is thus incentivized to create long-lasting goods, recondition these goods and prevent waste.
In a service-based circular economy, waste is not only prevented, but the entire concept of it is eliminated. “Waste” outputs are either returned to the environment as nutrients, or they become inputs for another manufacturing process, thus bringing the economy full circle. Goods are prolonged, reused, refurbished and recycled, but they are never thrown away.
All over the world, companies are implementing sustainable practices and systems inspired by the circular economy model. One example is CBPak, a company based in Brazil that has developed a food packaging material out of the cassava plant, which is then collected by local composting companies after use. Another example is the company Yerdle, based in San Francisco, which collects used clothing items and sells them at lower-than-original prices to customers or back to the clothing company for resale.
The idea of circular economics may seem intimidating, but I assure you it’s not. Its concepts are fairly simple at their core and can be applied to all practices and fields. Just like companies, so too can we implement this way of thinking. As college students, we are young and visionary. Our ideas are bold, creative and innovative. We have the power to pursue our unique fields of interest and change them for the better — why not restructure them to be sustainable?
We also have the power to mimic circular economics in smaller ways. We can support composting efforts in campus dining halls. We can buy thrifted clothing or trade shirts with friends. We can make sure to recycle items that were once deemed nonrecyclable, such as Brita filters and K-Cups.
With or without humans, the earth is sustainable; all of its outputs are fed back into the system as inputs, and so the cycle continues indefinitely. Our linear economic system of take, make and dispose does not reflect this basic truth, and so it is destined to fail. Using nature as our mentor, we must take our current linear economy and mold it into a circle. We must close the loop.
Georgia Kerkezis is a sophomore majoring in environmental studies.