Developing Circular Economy

Developing Circular
economy

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
In order to fully understand the challenges of moving from a linear to a circular economy it
will be most informative to showcase two products against each other (Awasthi and Et. Al.,
2019). One is the single use plastic water bottle which epitomizes the linear nature of a product,
a model that consumes non-renewable resources in the extraction of material to produce single
use plastic bottles. After production C02 is emitted in the transportation of the finished product
to consumers and after consumption the empty bottle is discarded as waste. Without
consideration for the resource put into the production, this system gives rise to a negative and
loss in material, compared to a circular economy that adds value to a material chain and it is
restorative in nature. A model where reuse and recycling provide substitutes to the use of raw
virgin materials there by decoupling prosperity from resource consumption making it beneficial
to a nation’s economy and the environment, this is evident in the reusable water bottle.
MAIN BODY
Principle of a circular economy
There are various principles of circular economy which are required to be focused
appropriately. All of them suggest that an economic system that is designed to eliminate waste
and the exhaustion of finite resources in the production of goods and services is required to focus
upon all of them (Bhadra, Al-Thani and Abdulkareem, 2017). All the principles are described
below:
 Design out waste and pollution: It states that all the economic systems should be
focused with designing the way in which waste and pollution could be controlled.
 Keep product and materials use: This principle of circular economy is focused with the
use of all the products and materials in appropriate manner.
 Regenerate natural system: This system states that effective strategies for regenerating
the natural system should be focused (Charter, 2018).
If a system is designed not to create waste, to use rather than use up, to protect and
improves the environment then, there is reduced pressure on the environment, and assured
supply of raw materials as depicted in figure below,
1

Figure 1: Circular economy. 2017
(Source: Circular economy. 2017)
1. Single use plastic bottles
The single use plastic water bottle has constantly grown in demand from the industrial age
till date due to the convenience it affords, and the prosperity the discovery of oil and
development brought meant that we can afford the conveniences. This ever-increasing
convenient trend of drinking water from single use plastic bottle comes at a cost to the
environment (Farmer, 2020). The waste from single use plastics accounts for one of the most
common litter in the environment. It is very important to reduce use of such bottles as it can help
to contribute in the growth of circular economy.
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