The Circular

Economy
Designing out waste

By Gokul Krishnan B

IMB2018012
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 Moving Towards Circular economy

For a long time, our economy has been ‘linear’. This means that raw materials are
used to make a product, and after its use any waste (e.g. packaging) is thrown away.
In an economy based on recycling, materials are reused. For example, waste glass is
used to make new glass and waste paper is used to make new paper. To ensure that
in the future there are enough raw materials for food, shelter, heating and other
necessities, our economy must become circular. That means preventing waste by
making products and materials more efficiently and reusing them. If new raw
materials are needed, they must be obtained sustainably so that the natural and
human environment is not damaged.
From a linear economy …
90% of the products we buy are
trashed within 6 months Source: The Great Recovery
 The old concept of “make-take-waste” isn’t
working anymore. We need to design the concept
of waste out of the system, recirculating and
regenerating materials while increasing the
efficiency and productivity of the resources we
use.

Re-thinking Progress The Circular Economy.mp4

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 What is the circular economy?
• The concept of the Circular Economy has been around for a number of years now
and has become an increasingly familiar term in the fields of sustainability, waste
management and economics
• Circular economy is presented as a system of resources utilization where
reduction, reuse and recycling of elements prevails. By refraining from throwing
away used products, components and materials, instead re-routing them into the
right value chains, we can create a society with a healthy economy, inspired on
and in balance with nature
• The current model of production and management of resources, goods and
services that seeks to promote short-term consumption is leading the planet to
an unsustainable situation
 Ellen MacArthur Foundation
• The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is a British registered
charity with the stated aim of inspiring a generation to re-
think, re-design & build a positive future through the
framework of a circular economy.
• The Ellen MacArthur Foundation works with business,
government and academia to build a framework for an
economy that is restorative and regenerative by design.
 Principles that define how Circular Economy
should work
• Waste becomes a resource:
• Reuse:
• Recycle:
• Energy from
renewable sources:
THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY
Example : Puma – towards Zero Waste?

They make better use of boxes by not

using them.
PUMA: Circular Model
 Circular Economy in
India

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 Benefits Of Circular Economy
In Business And Economy

• Profit opportunities for businesses through increasing

innovation and demand for new business services.
• Material cost savings
• Economic growth
 Benefits for The Environment

• Reduced consumption of virgin, non-renewable

materials and energy
• Lower GHG emissions
• Reduced water use
• Increased land productivity and soil health.
 Benefits For Citizen

• Lower cost for products and services.

• Greater utility and choice.
• Reduced negative externalities, e.g. Ill Health,
pollution.
The circular economy – a solution to
the world's water crises?
• Changing people's perspectives to see waste as a resource will take some time, but trial
initiatives are already underway in places

• As part of the recently-launched NextGen project, these areas will serve as "test-beds"
for trying out new thinking and technologies for better water management.

• The solutions that the project finds will be a combination of new technologies, new
approaches and new methodologies for treating waste water. One such solution might
be the development of businesses that can facilitate change.

• Profitability is key to the success of any circular economy initiative,.

• "The challenge here is to make sure that the approaches and the technologies that we
come up with is not only good for the environment but that it makes sense from an
economical perspective
 Banyan Nation :Example of an Indian
Firm
• It helps clean and re-engineer 1,200 tonnes per annum (TPA) of plastic waste and
render it as close to virgin plastic as possible, thus enabling reuse in the
manufacturing process.
• The thermal technology Banyan Nation has developed helps rid plastics off
contaminants like metals, labels, auto paints, inks, dirt, oils, adhesives, etc. In
India, most of the plastic recycling is done informally (and illegally), and the
cleaning is so rudimentary that it reduces the material’s quality such that it
cannot be reused. Hence, the demand for recycled plastic is very low in India,
unlike in Western markets where leading corporations are openly using re-
engineered plastic in packaging.
• Banyan, though, has been successful in generating some demand for Better
Plastic — a near-virgin grade recycled plastic it creates from post-consumer and
post-industrial waste streams — in India.
 Conclusion
• Realising the circular economy opportunities described requires
action by many stakeholders.
• Businesses have the opportunity to lead the way in the transition
to circular models, and governments can create the right enabling
conditions for their adoption.
• Collaboration between these and other actors, including the
informal sector, educational institution, and international
organisations will be key to creating systemic change.
• In the short term, setting up such collaborations, engaging
additional stakeholders, and undertaking further research could
strengthen the foundations needed to begin the transition .
THANK YOU