Introduction

What is Circular Economy?

Circular economy is an "industrial system that is restorative" and or "regenerative", purposely. This idea eliminates the concept of raw materials and materials taken from the earth only being able to be used once. Instead, there is a move towards the use of "renewable energy and eliminating the use of toxic chemicals". This in turn removes "waste" products in the atmosphere and in our planet (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2013).

How does Circular Economy work?

The idea of Circular economy works by an overall "acceleration" of the work put into the Sustainable Development Goals. For this framework to be successful it is necessary to reduce the amount of natural resources used along with the slowing of economic growth as the rate that economy and population are growing at present is not sustainable and is leading to bigger loss to biodiversity and an increase in waste and pollution (United Nations Development Programme, 2023). To think of Circular Economy is to think of the world's economy changing from a linear way of operating to a circular movement. Therefore, natural resources being reused and recycled (RTE, 2023). 

Principles of Circular Economy

There are three principles based around Circular economy. These are used as guidelines as to what should be being achieved in terms of developmental sustainability. The first principle is to "minimize waste and pollution". This principle is so that we can reduce waste from economic activities such as production, consumption and public sector activities. The second principle is "extension of the use full life of products and materials". This is in line with exactly what circular economy is all about with regards to reusing, recycle and "repair" materials so that waste is reduced significantly over time. The last principle is "regeneration of natural systems". This is the idea of allowing nature and biodiversity to survive through the reusing of materials over and over (CFI, 2023). 

What will we be focusing on more specifically?

We will be looking at ways Circular economy feeds into waste management. The waste management plan in Ireland focuses on moving away from waste disposal and moving towards ways to preserve resources in a circular economy way.