The circular economy proposes a change in the entire way of consuming, from the design of products to our relationship with raw materials and waste. It makes an adjustment in what would be the end of the process of the traditional economy, adding phases to extend the useful life of the products.
This idea of economy is based on the 4 R's: reduction, reuse, recovery and recycling, to reduce environmental, economic and social imbalances.
With the use of raw material until its exhaustion - whether transformed, reused or recycled - this material will be useful and will not have an early disposal without the necessary care, which is highly harmful to the environment.
In recent years, this dynamic has been gaining ground in several industrial projects and reaching supporters in society. Which is excellent news from an environmental and social point of view, given the urgency of reducing waste production and exploitation of natural resources.
Materials such as glass, aluminum cans or plastic take hundreds of years to decompose in nature. Hence the importance of rethinking the use of these materials. For example, instead of throwing the plastic bottle away after consuming a drink, the circular economy means that this input is redirected to a new position, starting with reuse to store another liquid, if this is not possible, the bottle can be sent to an industry that repairs or recycles it, keeping it within the dynamics of consumption, without polluting the environment.
At SMF, when we have handicraft activities with discarded materials, we make bazaars with the sale of items in full condition of use or we encourage the community with the separation of garbage, we are putting into practice the pillars of the circular economy.
Linear Economy
In traditional productions, called linear economy, the practice follows the extract-produce-discard flow.
In this model, economic growth depends on the consumption of finite resources, which will cause the depletion of raw materials. With fewer resources available, costs are increasingly higher and, consequently, sales prices.
In addition, they also have the problems associated with environmental sustainability. The linear model generates a very large volume of unused and potentially toxic waste for humans and natural systems.
This issue needs to be on the agenda, as change is urgent. Share this idea, we need to take care of the planet. It is our home and that of future generations.