Someone asked us the other day “What is circularity and how does it differ from zero waste?”
Isn’t that a good question?
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation defines the circular economy in this way.
“A circular economy is based on the principles of designing out waste and pollution, keeping products and materials in use, and regenerating natural systems. A new way to design, make and use things within planetary boundaries.”
This Circular Economy reflects an aspiration, a lofty goal, and the ultimate endpoint for society. It’s a bold new way to live our lives, where the only boundaries are that of our ingenuity.
It describes a future where we no longer throw things ‘away’, where the everyday items we use are designed to be reused and repurposed continually. It’s the antithesis or complete opposite of what we have today; a linear economy or throwaway society.
Let’s look at it another way.
The world is running out of resources. The benefits of moving to a circular economy are obvious, not just to consumers but increasingly to cities and governments. Within a circular economy, we will be able to create new, meaningful jobs, our dependence on finite resources and raw materials will go down, we won’t have to burn forests or blast mountains to get to raw materials and overall can sustain more people whilst working in harmony with nature.
Yet, our transition is in its infancy. To move entirely to a new economic model that values waste and prioritises designing material recovery into the fabric of any product will take time, effort, and a significant cultural shift.
But, the good news is that the shift is already happening. Any great change has to start somewhere and that is where zero waste enters the fray. Zero waste is a set of principles or a guiding philosophy focused on preventing waste from entering landfill. It is a movement and a lifestyle, as well as a corporate aspiration that can be actively measured in the number of items that cannot be repurposed or recovered in some form.
To arrive at these principles, the Zero Waste community has peered inside the machine of mass consumption and started to ask questions about how everything operates.
What goes into the processes of making my things?
How are they transported to me?
What happens when I throw them away, where do they go?
Where are all the resources we are using every day ending up?
What is the impact I am responsible for if I choose to purchase and use this item?
When I put things in the bin, in our water, in our environments, what happens to it?
When I return items or give them to charity, what happens then?
What really happens when I recycle?
How are the people who make my things many miles away living and thriving, am I helping or harming?
What is the impact of how I live my life contributing to the greater planetary story?
And, the one big question, does it need to be this way?
The zero waste community asks these questions because they’re curious and concerned. They, like us, want to act now, today, and start living as though our house is on fire (because it is). We no longer wish to be complicit in the destruction of our home and use our purchasing decisions and lifestyle choices to vote for the change we wish to see. A change that reflects the truth of our situation:
“There is no such thing as ‘away’, when we throw something away, it must go somewhere”.
Annie Leonard - Greenpeace
So, what’s the difference?
Zero waste is focused on waste prevention and resource conservation, specifically looking at diverting waste from landfills, incinerators, or ending up polluting in the environment. It is a state of curiosity and responsibility that encourages personal and corporate limits on consumption and proper waste management. It aligns decision-making in the here-and-now with our desire to do no harm. It is a way of effecting change within a linear system.
It is a bottom-up approach and a measurable output goal.
Circularity is the economic system we aspire to live in and is a viable alternative to the linear system. It is about designing products, materials, and processes to be environmentally sound and recoverable from the very start. It is a top-down approach that involves governments, legislation, manufacturers, and global cooperation.
It is the operating system by which zero waste becomes possible at scale.
Zero waste doesn’t equal circularity, but the two are connected and amplify the ultimate goal of living in a clean, well-managed planet that is abundant and diverse.
The circular economy will become the new normal, a world where ‘shifting the system involves everyone and everything: businesses, governments, and individuals; our cities, our products, and our jobs. By designing out waste and pollution, keeping products and materials in use, and regenerating natural systems we can reinvent everything.’
- Ellen MacArthur Foundation.