Overview

Our current economy is Linear: Take -> Make -> Waste. We dig up oil, make plastic, use it once, and throw it in the ocean. A Circular Economy is: Make -> Use -> Return. Nothing is waste. Everything is food for the next cycle.

Core Idea

The core idea is Design out Waste. Waste is a design flaw. If a phone can’t be repaired, it was designed badly.

Formal Definition

An economic system aimed at eliminating waste and the continual use of resources. The Butterfly Diagram: Biological nutrients (food) go back to the soil. Technical nutrients (metal) go back to the factory.

Intuition

  • Nature: There is no landfill in a forest. A dead leaf becomes soil for a tree.
  • Circular Economy: Mimicking nature. Your old jeans become insulation for a house. Your old car becomes a new car.

Examples

  • Product as a Service: You don’t buy a lightbulb; you buy “Light.” Philips owns the bulb. When it breaks, they take it back and fix it. They have an incentive to make a bulb that lasts forever.
  • Patagonia: “Don’t Buy This Jacket.” They repair your old clothes for free so you don’t have to buy new ones.
  • Fairphone: A modular smartphone. You can replace the camera or battery yourself with a screwdriver.

Common Misconceptions

  • It’s just recycling: Recycling is the last resort. It takes energy. The goal is Repair, Reuse, and Remanufacture first.
  • Cradle to Cradle: Designing products that are 100% safe and recyclable.
  • Planned Obsolescence: The enemy. Designing things to break after 2 years so you have to buy a new one.

Applications

  • Fashion: The fashion industry is the second biggest polluter. Circular fashion (renting clothes, reselling) is trying to fix this.

Criticism / Limitations

  • Cost: It is currently cheaper to dig up new plastic than to collect and clean old plastic. We need to change the incentives (taxes).

Further Reading

  • Braungart, Michael and McDonough, William. Cradle to Cradle.
  • Raworth, Kate. Doughnut Economics.