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IS RECYCLING AN ANSWER TO OUR WASTE PROBLEM?

To answer this question, we first need to understand what recycling means.
Recycling means reducing a product to its basic material level, hence allowing those materials or a portion of them to be remade into new products.

While recycling still a crucial process in a circular economy; yet, there is a lot of loss within this process, there is the loss of labour, energy and materials. Recycling, therefore, ends up being less efficient than reuse and remanufacturing.

FROM DISPOSABLE TO REUSABLE

Think about aluminium; this material is according to research the highest recycled potential of all recycled materials, every 1 kg of recycled aluminium saves 8 kg of pork site, 4 kg of chemical products and 14-kilowatt hours of electricity. But even with the recycling rate of 90% for aluminium cans, we still lose 10% of the aluminium each time we recycle it.

These small losses multiply rapidly over time, so while recycling slow down the loss of valuable materials, it doesn’t eradicate waste. The best solution is to move from recycled disposable goods to reusable goods so that we can keep products in use for more time.

MANUFACTURERS Vs CONSUMERS

LWe have discussed how the decisions we make when designing and manufacturing a product are responsible for 80% of its environmental impact. It seems, however, that the discussion around waste and pollution accountability is not really fair. As author Heather Rogers well puts: “When people talk about getting at the root of stemming waste at its source, they always target the individual consumer. That’s not the source of waste. For every ton of household waste, there are more than 70 tons of manufacturing waste—mining, petrochemical production, etc. The vast majority of wastes are created during the manufacturing process, and that is where we should focus.”

WHAT WILL YOU FIND IN THE E-BOOK?

 ✔Key concepts within the linear economy
✔Key concepts & principles within the circular economy
✔An essential glossary for the circular economy
✔Benefits of the circular economy
✔Circular design overview
✔6 Circular design strategies
✔News and Innovations from European Design Fairs & Events
✔15 Exclusive interviews with emerging & renowned designers
✔More than 20 case studies from brands & designers
✔More than 150 pages
✔More than 7000 words

Check out our e-book and help us to spread the word about the circular economy and circular design.

Designing a Circular Future E-book


*source: ellenmacarthurfoundation.org

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