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The Pros and Cons of the Circular Economy
Circular Economy has its pros and cons, affecting environmentally, economically, and socially. For obvious reasons, circular economy and recycled products require less extraction of virgin raw materials. Where we take out reusable materials within products and re-create new items. Furthermore, this form of economy reduces the consumption of fossil fuels, saving more resources for other purposes and decreasing the number of greenhouse gasses released due to fossil fuel combustion. Through recycling, products’ lives are extended as the materials are continuously being reused for making the same kind of products. As most of Earth’s waste is from throwing away reusable products, the recycling and reusing of materials decrease the waste and environmental damage. In addition, reusing materials requires re-designing products to be functional and purposeful, increasing innovation, economic growth and creation of new jobs. Lastly, the creation of products from old ones gives a nation greater independence in terms of imports and agility in supply. Countries are able to rely on their own resources without needing to import from other countries. On the other hand, a circular economy can bring negative impacts. As the idea rises, companies compete for better products, this new idea lacks regulations which can further lead to negative consequences regarding the competition for reusable materials and resources, such as plastic bottles in the public area. Also as stated, the circular economy is rather new and lacks thorough research and study, both suppliers and clients can be unfamiliar with the topic, leading to incorrect concepts regarding the topic. Additionally, this lack of information can lead to consumer acceptance problems, where the clients do not thoroughly understand the topic and refuse to use more money to buy the same kind of product which could negatively affect suppliers. From old products, only certain materials can be extracted and reused, the rest continues as waste that can’t have nature dissolution, which can still be difficult to recycle and transform. Last but not least, this new form of products lacks technical skills and abilities not yet presented in the workforce, with which the products can still be improved. Circular economy consists of both positive and negative impacts on the world, however, since this is still new, there is plenty of time for development and improvement, hoping to successfully protect the environment in the future.
