We often throw away or replace everyday objects when they break – or simply when they’re considered out of date. Sometimes we just say, “I haven't used it in years, why keep it?” Stimulating the demand for new products by the population of a given area has always been a key strategy for a healthy and robust economy: finding raw materials, producing large amounts of things at the lowest possible cost and selling them at the highest possible cost… and then starting all over again. Objects are designed so that they don’t last too long, so that we’ll soon want to buy another one. And fashions change quickly, so you get a new t-shirt every few months. Until recently, we didn’t even think about the energy consumed and the pollution that’s caused by production; those important things were left completely out of the equation. But this way of organizing the production of goods and services (called the “linear economy”) is a huge burden on the environment: the resources of our planet are not infinite, and the extraction and use of raw materials cause an increasing consumption of fossil fuels and the consequent emissions of new greenhouse gases, which isn’t good. Do I really need all this stuff? The circular economy proposes a totally different approach. It doesn’t ask you to give up anything that’s necessary for a comfortable life; it simply raises the question of quantity (do you really need 5 pairs of trousers and 20 new t-shirts every year?) and how long an item can be used before it really needs to be replaced. Take a look at 10 objects you have at home and just think: how many do you use? How many do you have that serve the same purpose? When you bought it, did you replace an item that did the same thing and still worked? The circular economy means sharing, lending, reusing, repairing, reconditioning and recycling existing materials and products, for as long as possible. In this way, we’re moving closer to greater environmental sustainability, by extending the useful life of products, and reducing waste to a minimum. Every product should be designed to last as long as possible and to be repairable whenever it fails. Once the product has truly completed its function, the materials it’s made of should be completely recyclable and reintroduced, where possible, into the production cycle, perhaps as part of another object, generating further value. A bamboo T-shirt There are two other pillars among the cornerstones of the circular economy. First, production must take place as close as possible to the place of sale and consumption (to avoid being transported in giant container ships that travel from one end of the world to the other) and renewable energy sources must be used. Secondly, we should invent new products from what has until now been considered waste. For example, did you know that you can make yarn and weave T-shirts from the peels of squeezed oranges? You can make clothes from nettles or bamboo, too, and they’re really comfortable. And we can even make biofuel from potato peels! One of the jobs of the future will be giving value to things that were once considered waste. Now we know that waste must be minimized; everything can go back into circulation.
