How we went from “makers” to “trash-makers” – and how to get back
By Bart Hawkins Kreps, An Outside Chance
Why do we have so much stuff? Why is it so hard to find good stuff? And when our cheap stuff breaks, why is it so hard to fix it?
Tag: circular economy
New California Bill Could Revolutionize How the U.S. Tackles Plastic Pollution
By Tara Lohan, The Revelator
A sweeping “circular economy” bill in the California legislature aims to drastically reduce plastic waste and boost domestic recycling.
Managing a Post-Growth Economy: Circularity, Productivity and Inequality
By Emanuele Di Francesco, Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity
A conversation between Emanuele Di Francesco and Tim Jackson, discussing post-growth concepts of a circular economy, the limits of labour productivity and the dynamics of inequality.
What a Waste
By Richard Heinberg, Resilience.org
Why not make the economy circular, with waste from one process feeding into other production processes, thus dramatically reducing the need both for resource extraction and for the dumping of rubbish? We should mimic nature: it’s a central ideal of the ecology movement, with roots in indigenous wisdom worldwide.
How Circular is the Circular Economy?
By Kris De Decker, Low-Tech Magazine
The circular economy – the newest magical word in the sustainable development vocabulary – promises economic growth without destruction or waste. However, the concept only focuses on a small part of total resource use and does not take into account the laws of thermodynamics.
‘Til Sustainability Do You Part: Arranging a Marriage Between Degrowth and the Circular Economy
By Erik Assadourian, John Mulrow, Resilience.org
But advocates of the circular economy rarely grapple with a central truth: the circular economy depends on a significant and sustained period of economic degrowth. Instead they tend to focus on innovations that deliver efficiencies and unlock new economic opportunities.
Frankenmuth Woolen Mill: Preserving American-made Craft for Over 100 Years
By Sasha Wirth, Fibershed
While many companies don’t question the practices employed by farms or source cheap materials from overseas, Abby and Matt have proudly kept their wool homegrown. And they haven’t stopped there. They’ve become one of several trailblazers for Fibershed’s new designation of wool altogether: Climate Beneficial Wool.
The 2nd Law of Thermodynamics – The Gaping Hole in the Middle of the Circular Economy
By Paul Mobbs
The 'circular economy' is, in my opinion, a ruse to make affluent consumers feel that they can keep consuming without the need to change their habits. Nothing could be further from the truth, and the central reason for that is the necessity for energy to power economic activity.
Circular Economy In Practice #7: Cooperate or Die
By Camille Duran, Eleen Murphy, Green Exchange
The ability to cooperate brought us to where we are today, and it’s what will help us change the world. Without cooperation, the Circular Economy will not be possible. So how will this work, practically? And what are the key principles of cooperation that we can start applying everywhere we go?
Circular Economy In Practice #6: Time Travel to 2050 – What Will the Future Look Like Exactly?
By Camille Duran, Eleen Murphy, Green Exchange
Last month, we took our time machine to the World Circular Economy Forum in Helsinki and asked 8 very brave volunteers to take a trip to 2050 and report back on what they found. In this episode we share the highlights from the trip and discuss in detail what we learned. Self cleaning clothes, soil health, vegetarianism, and yes - it looks like incineration will be out of the picture too. Strap in!
Doughnut Economics: a Step Forward, but Not Far Enough
By Ugo Bardi, Cassandra's legacy
Doughnut Economics, by Kate Raworth (Chelsea Green, 2017) is an interesting book that goes in the right direction in the sense that it promotes a circular economy, but it leaves you with the impression that it missed that extra step that would have lead it to define the goal in the right way. Bridging the gap between standard economics and biophysical economics is still far away.
The Circular Economy: Is it the Solution to Resource Depletion and Pollution?
By Mark H. Burton, Steady-State Manchester
As Christian Arnsperger suggests, to retrieve the idea of circularity requires a second concept, that of sufficiency, of “enough”. Without that, it is at best a way of postponing the inevitable crash, and at worst a way of giving false credibility to the growthist delusion. So the idea of resource cycling loops needs combining with the radical reduction of consumption, long product durability, re-use and repair.