Circular Economy

This is a clear overview of circular economy and I thought of sharing with those who have no idea about what it is... Enjoy.....

What is a circular economy?

Since the industrial revolution, waste has constantly grown. This is because our economies have used a “take-make-consume and dispose” pattern of growth – a linear model which assumes that resources are abundant, available and cheap to dispose of.

What we need is a more circular economy.  This means re-using, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products. What used to be regarded as ‘waste’ can be turned into a resource. All resources need to be managed more efficiently throughout their life cycle.

Using resources more efficiently will also bring new growth and job opportunities. Better eco-design, waste prevention and reuse can bring net savings for EU businesses of up to EUR 600 billion, while also reducing total annual greenhouse gas emissions. Additional measures to increase resource productivity by 30% by 2030 could boost GDP by nearly 1%, while creating 2 million additional jobs.

Moving towards a circular economy is at the heart of the resource efficiency agenda established under the Europe 2020 Strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. The main ideas on how to do more with less are being taken further in the EU's Environment Action Programme to 2020.

The European Commission's 'Generation Awake' campaign on resource-efficiency  focuses on what each one of us can do in our daily life to save water, energy and other natural resources, and turn waste into a resource.

Circular economy, saving resources and creating jobs are the main themes of Green Week 2014, the biggest annual conference on European environment policy.

Reference: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/circular-economy/

Edward