Circular Life
Natural Economy

The Circ​ular Life of Coffee Grounds and Plastic Bottles

Image Source: Link

what is circular economy

Circular Economy is a method to ensure that Earth is sustainable. It promotes resource optimization by reducing the usage of raw materials, recycling waste, and giving second life to old materials. In 2015, the United Nations established 17 Sustainable Development Goals to identify economic, social, and environmental issues. For example, one of the UNDSGs goals is climate change and a circular economy can decrease carbon footprints which slows down climate change and slowly achieves its goal.  Moreover, to promote sustainable development in the world, the circular economy must become a common language among people. There are three main principles of the circular economy. First, the circular economy promotes zero waste. Wastes will go through repair processes to make people reuse them. Second, disposable ingredients should be biodegraded, and the ingredients that can't be disposable should be able to be reused. Third, the energy needs to be renewable so it could reduce businesses' exposure to resource diminution. Therefore, the circular economy plays an important role when we face climate change and the loss of biodiversity.

What is circular economy

purpose

Show more 

development

Show more 

effects

Show more 

How To continue

Show more 

Purpose of Circular Economy

The purpose of the circular economy is to provide methods to solve climate change and biodiversity loss issues while providing for society’s needs. The circular economy method allows material resources to be accessible for humans to use by using "reduce, reuse and recycle”.  It will be an important concept in the future world since global warming will become more severe and the main purpose of it will be decreasing carbon footprints and greenhouse gasses.

Image Source: Link

Development of Circular Economy

A few years ago, society focused on a “Linear Economy”, using all possible resources to promote economic development, and never-ending using Earth’s limited resources, which is a highly consuming and destructive form of economy. Therefore, since 2006, economists have suggested the idea of a circular economy, raising awareness of how Earth’s resources are limited and urging people to learn to obtain the resources they need while maintaining the cycle and development of the ecological environment. This allows humans to improve on technology and move on to more convenient and sustainable lives while remaining sustainable with natural resources. Furthermore, since 2009, environmental pollution and the problems that come with industrialization increased, forcing the world to begin to work towards the goals of a circular economy and recognize its value and importance. Now, nations started greatly promoting a circular economy, satisfying the world’s needs and decreasing the use of unrecyclable natural resources, slowly but surely heading towards a sustainable world. 

Image Source: Link

Effects on Green Businesses

The increasing attention to the circular economy has given rise to green businesses around the world. Many large multinational companies had restricted their cooperative suppliers on the usage of hazardous substances due to expectations of Responsible Procurement and Green Sustainable Supply Chain. For instance, these companies have a stated “Supplier Code of Conduct” to ensure suppliers had passed relevant international verification standards or even require suppliers to use a certain proportion of recycled materials in the product’s manufacturing process. Consultant McKinsey predicts the circular economy will generate economic benefits of roughly 1.8 trillion euros a year by 2030. At the same time, the reuse of raw materials could bring benefits to the manufactured factories such as reducing the cost and waste material handling fee. With the progress of time and the high requirements from factories, manufacturers need to start green businesses and use circular economy elements in their products to generate the maximum benefits.

Ways to Continue Circular Economy

The circular economy is a method to recycle resources and give them a second chance to be reused as raw materials. This is a process of taking, making, and disposing of to achieve the goal of the circular economy. There are many advantages to a circular economy, it can keep the materials of products, re-design them to create new products, and also regenerate the natural systems. A circular economy can extend the service life of a product. For example, coffee grounds can be a reusable material. Some companies use coffee grounds to make coffee yarn for environmentally friendly products, such as shoes or clothes. Second, the PET bottle can recreate products, such as slippers, which could be sold and used by consumers and decrease the chance to become trash that can’t dissolute in nature. The reuse of these wastes helps the environment to get better by keeping the materials being reused, decreasing the carbon footprints the products had created, and creating a new life for products. Moreover, the purpose to continue a circular economy is to ensure the sustainable recovery, recycling, and reuse of resources through innovative development models. Thus, continuing a circular economy can improve the environment and improve people's living conditions.

Image Source: Link