Will circular economy work ?

[spy100]

Will circular economy work ?

The circular economy is a model of production and consumption, which involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products as long as possible. In this way, the life cycle of products is extended.

In practice, it implies reducing waste to a minimum....
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/economy/20151201STO05603/circular-economy-definition-importance-and-benefits

[Stedsm]

I'm biased on this because if the wastage is to be lessened, then it's good but it will work or not will completely depend upon the quality of the products that are being shared or sold ahead. If the quality of refurbished products isn't good, just the way I mostly see bad reviews of people buying expensive smartphones whose costs are cut down due to them being sold as refurbished products but still people are not satisfied, then this economy will turn out to be a huge failure. But yeah, if we talk about recycling of products, it is possible that some products (for eg. like plastic bottles or even glass bottles are not thrown away but given back to these companies through a chain, then that would definitely work in benefits of people.

[coupable]

Will circular economy work ?

The circular economy is a model of production and consumption, which involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products as long as possible. In this way, the life cycle of products is extended.

Face the Global warming issue, it looks that we have no choices but to use the cricular economy [as defined by op]. this would also help tackling biodiversity extinction and polution which are main consequences of the classic economic model.
I can't count how many materials that can be manaaged through recycling, composting, and so on, it's huge quantity for sure. But i know that to get along on our globe, we should stop wasting too much of th Earth natural systems and the circular economy seems to provide the best possible solution until we maybe will find better solutions evading the space and start exploiting other planets or any other celeste object the same way we used to use solar energy for instance .

[batang_bitcoin]

This will work for certain products that can are good to be recycled and refurbished. Well, right now, we're experiencing this. I've been looking to buy some things online that I need for example a laptop. Those that I'm looking at as brand new are quite expensive and I saw a particular shop that tells that they have brand new but as I look at the price, they're extremely cheaper. So I ask them if they're selling a refurbished laptop and they said yes. I think this example shows also that those that have been doing it to their products must be honest to their customers.

[dothebeats]

I don't think it will fully work, because at some point, those reused and refurbished items will have its quality degraded badly that its safety, efficiency, and practicality will no longer be beneficial to the members of the economy. Circular economy is not really 100% achieved even in most ideal settings, and people will have to throw away things that have far exceeded their usability. Recycling and refurbishing things is always good, but there needs to be a complementary solution to the problem that we have in overproduction and excessive waste in our planet.

[ninkdwi]

I think the systems implemented in a circular economy are very good because they can be an alternative to a linear economy because with this circular economy we can keep resources in use for as long as possible, extracting maximum value from them when they are used, then recovering and regenerating products and materials at a level end.
and with this system they are able to drive higher green growth than the “business as usual” scenario, by designing production systems that require less resources, ensuring that raw materials are extracted and used as efficiently and as long as possible.
but it might be a problem too because it uses a recycling system and of course when goods are used continuously from recycled goods that have been used automatically the quality of the goods will decrease little by little and this will be one of the obstacles also for the circular economy.

[shield132]

Will circular economy work ?

The circular economy is a model of production and consumption, which involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products as long as possible. In this way, the life cycle of products is extended.

In practice, it implies reducing waste to a minimum....
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/economy/20151201STO05603/circular-economy-definition-importance-and-benefits

It should work and it's better for the society in overall. Imagine: Instead of paying high price in new, you buy old in cheap price and make a new one out of it. Imagine if you could upgrade old PC components via recycling them instead of buying new ones every time, this is the case here. It's not only good for the nature but it can be cost effective for the business, it can meet the high demand and increase the supply.
We will adopt the circular economy. As time goes, the things change and this is the new thing that will come up in near future I guess it's becoming popular in Western Europe?

[jackg]

I can imagine the circular economy having steep on-ramps and that'll be a problem with it.

The companies that make the best comments normally go out of business because they can't compete on price and they collapse before their quality gets noticed (most of the time).

Style 1: you buy a phone from a circular economy place for $2000 and buy parts every time one becomes faulty as well as sorting the diagnostics for those parts. In the current economy this will always be really expensive unless you're planning on using your phone for say 2 decades in which case it might work.

Style 2 (and this happens a lot with custom made machinery already): you buy the item and pay a subscription/insurance on it to get it fixed. This would also be quite a costly approach for the consumer unless they're already used to paying a contract in the item (this is already done with cars in some cases).

[Upgrade00]

It cannot be sustainably maintained in ever industry, but it surely can work in many others and can be a good way of reducing waste while reducing the cost if production as the previous waste products would simply be recycled for use again.

It can also help the lower class members of the society as many people own products which could be useful to others, but have no way of reaching out to them, a functional circular economy can connect that bridge and make it much easier.

[hatshepsut93]

How can you achieve this circular economy? When people have a lot of money, their desire new and premium things instead of buying something old and used, even if its fully functional. If a government tried to regulate this and limit how much things people could buy, this would have negative consequences for the economy and would be met with serious protests.

[Poker Player]

How can you achieve this circular economy? When people have a lot of money, their desire new and premium things instead of buying something old and used, even if its fully functional.

Well, precisely because not everyone has a lot of money, and there are people who like to save. You can buy reconditioned things much cheaper. I do believe that it can have some success.

[davis196]

I support the recycling of materials like plastic to be increased.
Less garbage wasted and less environmental pollution.
I don't know about whether or not the concept of "circular economy" would work.
There should be an incentive for the companies and households to join this process.
If recycling lowers the quality of raw materials,then maybe new types of materials should be invented.
Materials that don't lose their quality,when they get recycled.There's room for innovation.

[Ucy]

Will circular economy work ?

The circular economy is a model of production and consumption, which involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products as long as possible. In this way, the life cycle of products is extended.

In practice, it implies reducing waste to a minimum....
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/economy/20151201STO05603/circular-economy-definition-importance-and-benefits

Ofcourse, that could minimize wastage but you have to be really humble and prudent to be able to reuse things in that manner. Lots of people don't really like used things probably for the wrong reasons. The only acceptable reason why you may need to avoid certain used things is safety issues. You would need to make sure that former owner didn't misuse a product in a way that it becomes harmful to you and others. So, you have to be sure it's clean/safe before use.


I actually like that kind of economy alot but it needs to be done the right way to avoid problems. Shared things will need strict rules to avoid misuse/abuse and to ensure that something is in proper shape before it's transfered to the next user.
I really like how a gentleman who deals on used vehicles treat them before resell. Probably a standard set by the country (I guess UK) he's from. Guess a vehicle has to pass certain safety checks before they can be sold in the country.

I also prefer things to be built for multiple purposes not just one or few purposes. That should help curtail the number of product a user has to buy to take care of important needs

[hannahB4]

For me, it will work. This is because from the Producer to the consumer there is a lot of stages embedded in this which actually be a good one for the economy in the long run eventually. Like we are thought in Economics then that the producer gets man labor from the consumer which in turn buys from the producer and all

[Hydrogen]

The circular economy is a model of production and consumption, which involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products as long as possible.

It all comes down to "right to repair". Open source software vs proprietary closed source code. DMCA allowances for reverse engineering software and technology for credible purposes. The degree to which markets are centralized, consolidated and monopolized to influence quality control. And similar topics.

Its easy to say automobiles should be repairable by customers, for purely ideological reasons related to a "circular economy" (would sustainable economy or a right to repair economy be more suitable terms perhaps?). Until one realizes special OBDII computer hardware is often necessary to run diagnostics on modern cars and trucks. Without which, the average person could not interface with electronics to troubleshoot issues.

Farmers have recently had issues with tractors being difficult to repair. Modern manufacturers often place obstructions to their products being field maintainable or repairable.

If consumers support right to repair trends, they may need to do a better job being informed and voting with their wallets. Or negative trends could easily become normalized due to lack of resistance.

[paxmao]

IMHO it cannot replace fully a non-circular economy. There is a law that says that "entropy can only grow on a closed system" - so it would never be perfectly circular in any case.  There is case to have an economy "as circular as possible", the problem being that, as of now, it is cheaper not to. Sustainability in general has to be incentivised artificially by, for example, introducing taxes and rights to the carbon emissions.

If you want to refurb, repair, etc... you would need to introduce heavier taxes for not doing it. The problem is that would depress the economy, which is something no govmnt. likes.

[amishmanish]

The circular economy isn't really "circular". Its part of the ESG jargon like sustainability, life-cycle management etc. All it aims for is to reduce wastage as much as possible and re-use materials in manufacturing process.

With all the recent push towards renewables, electric vehicles, hydrogen vehicles, a whole set of novel manufacturing practices will start. The planners and thinkers want it to start with the notion of minimum wastage and maximum re-use. Unlike the industrial revolution or the 20th century, the planet no longer has the luxury of being unexplored and virgin. We have consumed everything to the brink and have hurt ecosystems, flora-fauna, polar caps, permafrost etc. etc. We can no longer be cavalier with the way we produce and consume.

This concept of waste management in such a way that material are re-used is thus a necessary requirement for the industries of tomorrow. And yes, it can work. The question is whether corporations are willing to put the investments to enable such re-use and whether consumers are willing to temper their consumption habits accordingly.

[so98nn]

I am not sure in what world I am? Isnt all these things are already happening? We do recycle, refurbish and do follow all the re-usable practices all the time since tech has gone far. I mean whether it simple waste or is it a iphone everything is reused these days. More and more economist and environmentalist are active as compared to the previous decade or so. They are very careful about the nature also. In the process most of the things are getting reused wherever possible.

Whether this is out of economical living or out of natures pride, things are as stated in the OP only. They are being re-invented for the newer usage. I think this is going on since long now and we might actually seeing the circular economy itself?

[Hippocrypto]

Will circular economy work ?

The circular economy is a model of production and consumption, which involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products as long as possible. In this way, the life cycle of products is extended.

In practice, it implies reducing waste to a minimum....
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/economy/20151201STO05603/circular-economy-definition-importance-and-benefits

For me, it will possibly work, this could help minimize wastage. Maybe some other people won't use this for their own safety purposes. When using this, we must have to make sure that the former owner didn't misuse the product in a way that it will cause harm to you or else to others. Before using it, you must have to make sure that it was safe and it all clean. But, I guess not all are using this because they are afraid of their safety issues.

[Vaskiy]

Çircular economy is effective until it gives the best out of the process. Right now almost every product is on the circular economy. This fails when the production cost goes high when made out of recycled process, whereas it have the same quality and costs less when produced out of the raw material.

The world suffering out of improper waste management. An example is the clothes manufacturing. Once after the minimal usage it is moved to African countries from Europe. Here the best is taken by the people and the rest were thrown directly as bundles. This makes a big garbage and serves as a big hazardous landfills.



Source : Decolonising Fashion