Circular Economy is an economic system focused on sustainability by making the most of resources that we possess and therefore, eliminating large amounts of waste. This approach to sustainability takes the typical “take, make, dispose” model of production to a whole new level. In a circular system, the model of production is more of a “make, use, reuse, remake, recycle” kind of approach.
Circular Economy advocates declare that this form of sustainability does not affect the quality of life for consumers, and will not produce extra costs for manufacturers. Products that are involved in this approach include Kaffeeform, a reusable coffee cup made entirely out of coffee grounds, as well as refillable products such as a refillable tube of deodorant. There is even a company that specializes in reusable products and offers consumers an alternative to recycling called Loop. With Loop, consumers can shop for a variety of products, such as, laundry detergent, shampoo, mouthwash, etc. After using these products, consumers put the empty containers in a Loop tote, place it on their doorstep to be picked up by a delivery service, and the containers are cleaned and refilled and shipped out to consumers once again.
Sounds like a perfect world doesn’t it? I’m all for going green and minimizing waste as much as the next person, and I believe small initiatives such as Loop are great contributions. However, completely eliminating waste isn’t feasible or realistic. Imagine how difficult it is to get every person in the world to adapt to this new means of recycling; it’s not possible. Let’s pretend that we did though; there is still no way to completely eliminate waste. Reusable containers will someday still end up in waste and in order to make biodegradable products, a lot of man power and resources are required. It’s nice for everyone to take steps in order to make our world a nicer place; however, I don’t see a day that the world will ever be 100% waste free.
Peru's Food Movement 