The circular economy is a relatively new hot topic in the field of sustainable development.
The circular economy is a concept related to economic and sustainable development. From the beginning of scientific inventions, humans have followed the notion of use and waste disposal principle. However, waste has increased rapidly over the last century. To limit both uses and produced waste from goods, the concept of circular economy is introduced. There are numerous myths floating on the internet. This article is intended to debunk those myths.
Myth: Circular economy is all about advanced waste management.
Fact: The circular economy is an advanced way of focusing on only upstream innovation, rather than improved waste management. In this model, waste is reduced through advanced design. So, if there is no waste generation, there is no need to worry about waste management. This is basically improving your input to manage the output.
Myth: Circular economy talks only about recycling.
Fact: A circular economy aims to maintain products and associated components at their highest probable value for the longest possible duration. This can only be achieved by advanced reuse, refurbishment repair, and remanufacturing steps. Recycling is definitely an integral part of the circular economy, but not everything.
Myth: Circular economy depends on Efficiency only.
Fact: Traditional sustainability strategies focus on efficiency values mostly. This was done by reducing the quantity of both material and energy required in production while aiming to mitigate environmental impacts. This is not the actual way of sustainable development. There is a need to ensure the overall system is effective along with efficient. Basically, you need to focus on doing good rather than reducing bad.
Myth: Circular economy is a closed loop.
Fact: This is another common misconception about the circular economy due to its name. People think of this as a recycling machine just like the circular cycle of income and expenditure, as mentioned in economic textbooks. A circular economy is another version of a linear yet mechanistic strategy.
Myth: Circular economy is just another fancy word to define sustainability.
Fact: Fundamentally, the circular economy is a distinguished model which is separate from the traditional take-make-waste strategy. The basic inspiration is drawn from nature. Then it is implemented on industry-led transformation along with systems-level change.
Myth: Circular economy is exactly opposite to the concept of the linear economy:
Fact: The linear economy deals with the produce-consume-throw strategy. However, the circular economy compels scientiststo rethink this model. It is just rebuilding the concepts of the linear economy, not the exact opposite.
As the linear economy is considered a degenerative concept, there is a need to build a model for effective production. It is also our duty of us to be aware of this and promote sustainable development.
