Circular Economy

What is a circular economy?

A circular economy is a model of production and consumption, whereby the sharing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing, and recycling of existing materials and products is maintained for as long as possible. The opposite of this is the “linear economy” which is a take, make, and dispose model found to be an inefficient use of resources and resulting in a culture of consumerism.

A circular economy reduces material use, redesigns materials, products, and services to be less resource intensive, and recaptures waste as a resource to manufacture it into new materials and products. It simply keeps products and materials in use! 

The circular economy keeps products and materials in use and is based on 3 main principles:

1. Eliminate waste and pollution
2. Circulate products and materials
3. Regenerate nature

How can you help?

You can contribute to a circular economy by:

• Reducing what you buy. If purchasing essential items, opt for quality, lasting items that can be used many times or for a long time.
• Reusing what you have. Rather than buying something new, see if you can fix or re-use the item for a different purpose.
• Repurposing for a gift. As we buy new things, we inevitably get rid of old ones. Consider re-gifting quality items that are still useable or donating them to a local secondhand shop.
• Recycling. Give items a new life by saving things that can be recycled from landfill.