Circular Economy

Greetings to all. Today, I'm gonna share about circular economy.

what is the circular economy?

The circular economy is an alternative to our current economic paradigm, which is based on linearity. It's based on the study of biological systems and the natural world. We're used to gathering and transforming resources that are later consumed and discarded once their useful life has passed. When you look at nature, though, you can see that the processes are very different. A tree grows and reproduces from a seed, and when it dies, it returns to the soil to enrich it and provide sustenance for future life.

"Circular Economy is a new business paradigm, inspired by nature, where all energy and resources flows are maintained in closed loops, eliminating the concept of waste while generating economic, social and environmental value," explains Nicola Cerantola, founder and director of Ecologing, an organization that helps businesses find sustainable ways of doing their work. "The Circular Economy is not waste management — it is about exploring new mechanisms that enable a radical and regenerative transformation of the society towards a healthier, fairer and sustainable world."

It has been said that the circular economy might be able to solve the world’s mounting waste problem. I agree with this statement because it is part of the global strategy that also uses, among other things, the principles of the green economy, industrial ecology, eco-design or the economy of functionality.

How circular economy is applied in the real world?

In Malaysia, the government launched the Roadmap Towards Zero Single-Use Plastics 2018-2030 to help minimize the usage of plastics. While the "no plastic straw" policy remains in place, businesses and consumers must be more proactive in adopting the second phase, which calls for the use of biodegradable and compostable products like food packaging and flatware. Pollution levies should be managed transparently and utilised to reduce plastic pollution, fund research and development of environmentally friendly alternatives, incentivize producers, and boost communication, education, and public awareness operations. Malaysia will establish the MySDG Trust Fund, with an initial investment of RM20 million, with the help of the United Nations to encourage local businesses to adopt sustainable goals. The government would also continue to support the Green Technology Financing Scheme 3.0, which will have a budget of RM2 billion for the next two years, till 2022.

Furthermore, Rentwise Sdn Bhd CEO Leanne Ooi has been recycling electronics for the past 19 years, eventually increasing their lifespan by up to three lifecycles and making them nearly brand new through a process known as remanufacturing. Ooi, who founded Rentwise at the age of 24, tells Digital Edge that the company began by cleaning up equipment and correcting minor issues before gradually becoming into the well-thought-out and complex operation it is today. According to Ooi, Rentwise progressed from basic recycling to actual refurbishing, which included repairing broken components and cleaning the units. It eventually progressed to remanufacturing, where major components like the storage device and RAMs, as well as the operating system, are upgraded, and the item is entirely restored visually and functionally to as-new condition with a matching guarantee. “Most of our clients comment that if we didn't tell them otherwise, they would assume the machine is brand new.”

Last but not least, Levi Strauss is working on some interesting short- and long-term circular economy efforts targeted at reducing the amount of apparel, shoes, and textiles that end up in landfills in the United States each year, including incalculable tonnes of jeans. Every Levi's store accepts any brand of old clothing and shoes, which the firm gathers and repurposes or recycles alongside its partner, I:CO. The clothes are recycled into products like as building insulation, cushioning material, and fresh clothing fibres. " The collected clothes are transformed into things such as insulation for buildings, cushioning material and new fibers for clothing". In the meanwhile, Levi's is trying to build an infrastructure that will support closed loop products by 2020. The company expects to be able to recycle old Levi's jeans into new ones in the future. 

That's all for today. Have a nice day 😉