https://doi.org/10.37955/cs.v6i3.275
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eISSN: 2600-5743
Circular economy and its impact on
environmental sustainability
La economÃa circular y su impacto en la sostenibilidad
ambiental
Angel Maldonado Castro
Quevedo State Technical University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Economics and Finance,
amaldonado@uteq.edu.ec, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6478-7365
Jenny Maldonado Castro
Universidad Técnica Estatal de Quevedo - Ecuador, School of Business Sciences,
jmaldonado@uteq.edu.ec, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1531-7695
Roger Yela Burgos
Quevedo State Technical University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Economics and Finance,
ryela@uteq.edu.ec, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0643-163X
Edgar Moreno Suqilanda
Quevedo State Technical University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Economics and Finance,
emoreno@uteq.edu.ec, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7801-4520
ABSTRACT
This article establishes a reflection on the circular economy and its
impact on environmental sustainability, which is bases on the
optimization of resources avoiding pollution, as well as
environmental degradation through reduction, recycling, and reuse,
that is, the circular economy aims to improve the efficiency and
effectiveness of use of resources. In this sense, the circular economy
is an alternative to the linear economy whose approach is to take,
manufacture and dispose of, which is unsustainable for economic
growth due to scarce resources. Therefore, this research aims to
identify the components of the circular economy that affect
environmental sustainability. In this document, it analyzes the
concept, principles, as well as the components of the circularity
economy, describes the difference between circularity and
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sustainability, in turn, tries to correlate the circular economy with
environmental sustainability.
RESUMEN
El presente artÃculo establece una reflexión sobre la economÃa
circular y su impacto en la sostenibilidad ambiental, la cual se basa
en la optimización de recursos evitando la contaminación, asà como,
la degradación ambiental mediante la reducción, el reciclaje y la
reutilización, es decir, la economÃa circular tiene como fin mejorar la
eficiencia y la eficacia del uso de los recursos. En este sentido, la
economÃa circular es una alternativa a la economÃa lineal que tiene
como enfoque tomar, fabricar y desechar que es insostenible para el
crecimiento económico debido a los recursos que son escasos. Por lo
tanto, esta investigación tiene como finalidad identificar los
componentes de la economÃa circular que inciden en la sostenibilidad
ambiental. En este documento, se analiza el concepto, los principios, asÃ
como los componentes de la economÃa circular, describe la diferencia
entre circularidad y sostenibilidad, a su vez, trata de correlacionar la
economÃa circular con la sostenibilidad ambiental.
Keywords / Palabras clave
Circular economy, recycling, environmental, sustainability
EconomÃa circular, reciclaje, medioambiente, sostenibilidad.
Introduction
Companies generally conduct their operations according to the
principle of the "Take, make and dispose" model, in which by
obtaining the raw material they would transform it into a finished
product which they would sell in the market to the final consumer
(Ghisellini et al., 2018). In this linear approach, organizations or
companies do not have to worry about what happens to the final
product once it is discarded because the assumption of linear
economics holds that there are infinite resources available to
manufacture the product and there is no concern about resource
depletion. (Goyal et al., 2018).
Circular economy aims to reduce the consumption of raw virgin
resources for the optimization of the use of by-products, or the
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recycling of discarded products as the main source of resource
materials in addition to decreasing the pollution generated at every
step (Pinjing et al., 2013)The circular economy aims to solve the
resource, waste and emissions challenges facing society by creating a
total supply chain from production to consumption that is restorative,
regenerative and environmentally benign. (Baratsas et al., 2021). It
has been approached on the basis of a study in which the Earth is
represented as a closed, circular system with scarce resources in
which the economy and the environment must coexist. (Ma et al.,
2019).
In this sense, the objective of this research is that through a
systematic review of the literature to identify the main components of
the circular economy that have an impact on environmental
sustainability. The circular economy is a viable alternative to the linear
economy, whereby, by maximizing the value of resources throughout
the life cycles of the products that contain them, resources can be used in
a more effective and efficient way, in addition to the fact that the negative
environmental, economic and social impacts associated with the life cycle
of products can be minimized (Brandão et al., 2020).
This document is composed of four parts: the first section
corresponds to the introduction to the topic of circular economy, the
second section concerns the literature review where the background
of the research was based, as well as the concepts related to the
research topic were defined, in the third section the methodology was
established, which announced the type of research that was
developed, as well as the process that was carried out, the fourth
section reported the results that were presented during the research
process.
Since the second half of the 1970s, a new economic system of change
in business model innovation and consumer behavior has been
conceptualized in which both producers and consumers focus on
reprocessing refurbishing, renewing and recycling previously used
materials and products (Hysa et al., 2020). The concept of circular
economy has become very popular since it was introduced by policy
makers in China and the European Union as a solution that will
enable countries, companies and consumers to reduce damage to the
environment and close the product life cycle. (Deselnicu et al., 2018)..
The ambition of the model is to create circular material flows that
break with the current linear economic logic of take, make, and
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dispose, creating commercial value for its participants (Esposito et al.,
2018). From its beginnings, the circular economy manifested itself as
an alternative model to the neoclassical economy both from a
theoretical point of view, recognizing the fundamental role of the
environment, as well as its functions and the interaction between the
environment and the environment, addressing issues such as the
challenge of global resource scarcity and the challenge of
environmental pollution. (Ghisellini et al., 2016)..
Whereby the thoughts and practices of circular economy are
important for both business and sustainable development of all
industries. (Patwa et al., 2021), this type of economic system is an
alternative to the existing linear economy that is based on the take-
make-dispose principle, which is unsustainable for economic growth
due to the limited resources in the world (Dinda, 2020). In this context
the circular economy has the potential to lead to sustainable
development, while decoupling economic growth from the negative
consequences of resource depletion and environmental degradation.
(Babbitt et al., 2018).
In this way, a set of tools can be used for sustainable purposes.
(Sauvé et al., 2016)Therefore, companies should radically change
their business models under the paradigms of the circular economy,
in addition, society as a whole will have to change their styles due to
meet the challenges posed by population growth, environmental
degradation, climate change and unexpected events. (Wiedmann et
al., 2020).
In open systems, waste is converted back into materials and objects
through recycling, thus, a linear economy is transformed into a
circular economy (Trica et al., 2019)In open systems, fees for closed-
loop recycling and open-loop recycling are often not published
individually, but are communicated as a rate, which is problematic
because open-loop recycling usually has secondary material
recovered in product systems with lower quality requirements,
therefore, improving recycling efficiency for a more circular economy
includes a transaction from open-loop to closed-loop recycling.
(Graedel et al., 2011)..
The environmental benefits of recycling depend on the difference in
impacts resulting from supplying equivalent products either from
primary or secondary material (Geyer et al., 2016)The circular
economy is perceived as a crucial economic model that differs from
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the industrial economy. (Rashid et al., 2013)The circular economy is
perceived as a crucial economic model that differs from the industrial
economy, as well as being the solution to harmonize the ambitions of
economic growth and environmental protection. (Lieder & Rashid,
2016). It is therefore an alternative of a cyclical nature, i.e. it uses
resources and reuses them once their use is complete. (M. Oliveira et
al., 2021).
A circular business model is a business model in which the
conceptual logic for value creation is based on using the economic
value retained in products after their use in the production of new
offerings (Linder & Williander, 2017). Therefore, in order to
transform linear production systems into closed-loop systems,
resources and by-products must undergo multiple production and
consumption cycles and end-of-life treatments under the 3R philosophy
of reduce, reuse and recycle. (Genovese et al., 2017).
There are internal and external factors that impact the adaptation of a
business model to circular economy principles, internal factors refer to
organizational capacity, while external factors involve technological,
political, socio-cultural and economic issues (Roos, 2014)The
fundamental constructs and constituent elements of circular business
models can be derived from the fundamental principles of the
circular economy. (Lewandowski, 2016).
In this sense, these are characterized by the closure of raw material
chains, a transition from ownership to service provision and a more
intensive utilization of product functionality. Thus these business
models are focused on the recognized five building blocks: creating
loops, creating value, choosing an appropriate strategy, designing an
entity that fits with the organization between parties, and developing
circular profit models (Rogge & Reichardt, 2016).
Circularity and sustainability.
A sustainable circular economy should not only take an
environmental perspective, i.e., it should also take into consideration
economic and social performance (Melanie Haupt & Hellweg, 2019).
In this way, it is an economic model aimed at the efficient use of
resources through the decrease of waste, which has as its main
objective of a circular economy is economic prosperity, followed by
environmental quality; its impact on social equity and future
generations is hardly mentioned (Murray et al., 2017).
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This system seeks to move from an economic behavior of production-
consumption-waste to one of production-consumption-reuse.
(Prieto-Sandoval et al., 2018)In this sense, environmental goods have
a public character and have no price because they are not
exchangeable in the market, however, not having a price does not
necessarily imply that they are worthless; the economic appreciation
of ecosystems is given by the perceived utility they provide to
stakeholders. (Gómez-Baggethun et al., 2010).
The emergence of a new paradigm demands the design and
development of new indicators and new metrics. Materials, non-
renewable resources and fossil fuels as well as monetary flows are
indispensable for economic growth. (Brown & Ulgiati, 2015)However,
the limited availability of resources and the struggle for unlimited
economic growth generates socio-environmental chaos and events that
are extremely damaging to society and ecosystems. (Marques, 2020).
Companies, governments and academics have developed different
proposals to measure the circularity of services and products. These
metrics should provide an indication of how well the circular
economy principle is applied, however, more generally circularity
metrics have been criticized for not representing the systematic and
multidimensional nature of the circular economy, i.e., the
performance of environmental, economic and social (Saidani et al.,
2017).
In this sense, the circular economy is perceived as a sustainable
economic system where economic growth is decoupled from resource
use, through the reduction and recirculation of natural resources.
These metrics can be classified into two groups, the first makes
involves circularity measurement indices, which are intended to
provide a value expressing how circular a system is, the second group
involves circularity assessment tools, which are intended to analyze
the contribution of circular strategies to circular economy principles,
focus on environmental or economic impacts (Corona et al., 2019).
The transition to a sustainable circular economy requires assessment
methods that can be applied at all levels: from individual products to
larger systems and entire economies (Melanie Haupt & Hellweg,
2019). Thus, the circular economy has generated widespread
awareness and a willingness to act by governments and industries
because it supports the implementation of the Sustainable
Development Goals, among the relationships that stand out are clean
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water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy, decent work and
economic growth, responsible consumption and production, and life
on land. (Schroeder et al., 2019).
In this way, it is indispensable to have relevant indicators that not
only evaluate circularity but also environmental performance because
circularity is not necessarily equivalent to environmental
sustainability (M. Haupt et al., 2018). At its core, the circular
economy is a radical concept, as it is historically embedded in a
critique of established systems relationships that have produced
unsustainability that characterizes the linear forms of global
capitalism (Hobson, 2021).
The approach taken by the circular economy is whole systems with the
aim of redesigning economic and social relations not only to reduce the
impact that humanity has on the environment, but to radically
rebalance the relationship between man and nature, which seeks to
explain that the purpose of this system is to improve the relationship
between humans and the natural environment in turn in the economic
and social spheres (Boehnert, 2015).
Environmental sustainability and the circular economy.
Environmental sustainability refers to social, economic and
environmental balance. Sustainable development is a societal goal
defined at the macro level and includes broad notions of ecological,
economic and developmental or social sustainability, however, the
circular economy approach is mainly defined at the micro level
through a consumption and production model, i.e., if the
implementation of circular initiatives brings better results towards
sustainability, then the circular economy becomes a tool for
sustainable development (Bartelmus, 2013).
The circular economy is a sustainable development strategy that aims
to address urgent problems of environmental degradation and
resource scarcity. The 3R principles of the circular economy are to
reduce, reuse and recycle materials. (Heshmati, 2017). Although
sustainable development establishes the triple bottom line system, in
which the focus is on environmental, economic, and social benefits as
a whole, the circular economy prioritizes the economic system where
the main beneficiaries are the economy and the environment
(Geissdoerfer et al., 2017).
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One of the objectives to be fulfilled by the circular economy is
sustainability (Lazarevic & Valve, 2017), which implies that this type
of economic system that replaces the end-of-life concept with the
reduction, reuse, recycling and recovery of materials in the processes
of production, distribution and consumption, with the aim of
achieving sustainable development, simultaneously creating
environmental quality, economic prosperity and social equity, for the
benefit of current and future generations (Kirchherr et al., 2017).
The ability of the circular economy to contribute positively to
environmental growth, i.e., positive net growth of natural capital and
ecosystems is often implied rather than demonstrated (Corvellec &
Stål, 2019). Circular economy thinking equates to incremental rather
than radical transformations, a weak rather than a strong form of
sustainability (Hobson & Lynch, 2016). Economists as well as
environmental and materials scientists must assess the ecological
impacts and the costs and benefits of product (Stahel, 2016).
The circular economy is the manifestation of a paradigm shift, which will
require changes in the way society legislates, produces and consumes
innovations, while using nature as an inspiration to respond to social
and environmental needs, thus (Hofstra & Huisingh, 2014)The cycle
of extraction and transformation of resources and the distribution
and recovery of goods and materials is emerging as a cycle of
extraction and transformation of resources and the distribution and
recovery of goods and materials. (Park et al., 2010). There is a
positive impact of implementing the circular economy between
environmental management, consumers and associated cost
reductions. (Ormazabal et al., 2016).
Thus the circular economy requires innovative solutions to legislation,
production and consumption, which must be in line with sustainable
wealth creation (Scheel, 2016). Measures must be implemented to
ensure reverse flows of post-consumer products and close loops when
convenient, which implies that the circular economy is not different
from sustainable development because both depend on the
intervention of some authority. (Souza, 2013).
Assigning monetary values to resources or ecosystem functions may
not necessarily solve the main challenges related to the transition to
sustainable futures, since it may not improve environmental
conditions, thus may not decrease inequalities related to access to
resources, and is likely to suppress alternative valuation methods, so
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monetary valuation approaches should be handled with caution
because they facilitate methodological and discursive legitimization
for the commodification of nature, which may worsen socio-
environmental conditions. (Kallis et al., 2013).
To measure the transition to a sustainable circular economy and
monitor change in economic systems, the vision must extend to the
entire life cycle (Moraga et al., 2019). Sustainability is divided into
environmental, economic, social, and technical areas of concern
(Dewulf et al., 2015). Reuse, repair and recycling are becoming
crucial activities in many sectors, thus the circular economy is a way
to increase the sustainability of economic systems. (Elia et al., 2017).
Circular economy practices are, by definition, sustainable and do not
consider impacts on social equity and intergenerational well-being.
Material circularity refers to the investigated life cycle stage of the
product or service under study, however, sustainability performance is
assessed using a life cycle perspective (Blum et al., 2020). Because the
circular economy should also aim for a reduced environmental impact,
the need for an impact-based indicator becomes obvious. (Melanie
Haupt et al., 2017).
Over the years, many methods have been developed to assess the
sustainability of the production and supply of raw materials,
therefore, they have been developed with the aim of addressing
specific sustainability issues, among these methods are, classical life
cycle assessment, which is generally presented in an environmental
context (Jeswani et al., 2010)While social life-cycle assessment
methods focus primarily on social issues. (Sala et al., 2013).
Materials and Methods
This research establishes a bibliographic analysis to identify the main
components of the circular economy that have an impact on
environmental sustainability. It is important to note that the
systematic review of the literature was carried out through the use of
scientific articles, i.e. journal publications and websites. A set of
keywords related to circular economy and sustainability were
selected. The search was performed by combining these keywords.
The search string applied was: "circular economy" "sustainability"
"environment" "recycling".
The keyword combination was applied to "title, abstract and
keywords" in the Google Scholar database which is noted for
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containing an extensive amount of information. The search led to the
identification of 137 publications, of which 117 were excluded after
reviewing the information presented in each. The selection of eligible
publications was based on the reading, as well as the relationship
they presented with the established search criteria and the objectives
of the study.
The articles reviewed were published in different journals such as:
Resources, Conservation and Recycling; Environmental Development;
Journal Cleaner Production; Energy Security and Development:
Sustainability, International Journal of Green Economics. In this way,
20 publications were included that addressed issues of circular
economy, sustainability and circularity, which served as the basis for
the preparation of this document.
Results
To complement the findings of the literature review, an analysis of
the selected articles was carried out. The results are shown and
discussed in this section, it should be noted that the circular economy,
as well as sustainability are emerging topics, which are still being
discussed today. This research presents the evolution of the topic,
starting with the concepts of both circular economy and sustainability,
describes the transition from a linear model to a circular one, the
characteristics, as well as its main principles, and also tries to
correlate the circular economy with sustainability, consequently, the
impact it generates on the environment.
Sustainability requires a broad view of problems and impacts, as well
as a practical understanding of what is done and how it is done.
(Nidumolu et al., 2013)In this way, the concept of sustainability is
attracting more attention as societies are aware of the environmental
consequences of their actions, therefore, one of the most critical
challenges facing humanity is the scarcity of resources, therefore
several approaches have been established to reduce the impacts on
society among which the circular economy stands out. (Morone &
Yilan, 2020).
ï‚· Economic sustainability is developing positively if economic
value is generated, including this dimension adheres to the
neoclassical growth paradigm.
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ï‚· Environmental sustainability is developing positively if less
damage is done to the environment, i.e. if the impact on
climate change is reduced, or if the natural habitat of animals
is better protected.
ï‚· Social sustainability is developing positively if better social
conditions are created for all human beings.
Because natural resources are limited, the circular economy tries to
find how resources can be used in the most efficient way, thus
proposing that closing loops and repeated use of resources has the
potential to achieve maximum eco-efficiency. (Figge et al.,
2018)However, this type of economic system is compatible with
sustainable development, through its three associated pillars, not
only targeting its benefits in the economic sphere but also
environmental and indirectly social benefits. Therefore, it proposes new
patterns of production, consumption and use, based on circular flows of
resources. (Giurco et al., 2014).
Circular economy can be defined as a concept in which the
implementation of this model involves reducing the consumption of
raw materials, designing products in such a way that they can easily
be disassembled and reused after use (eco -design), prolonging the
useful life of products, through maintenance and repair, the use of
recyclable materials in products, and the recovery of raw materials
from the waste stream (van Buren et al., 2016)..
Thus, the circular economy is an elegant concept that can contribute
to a more sustainable society if its approach to the problem is
carefully designed and prudently implemented, with foresight for
unintended consequences such as durability of materials, access to
information and pollution of water resources. It is therefore
important to keep these issues in mind when devising a circular
economy model. (Anastas, 2020).
Proponents of the concept state that the circular economy has to offer
a novel path to sustainable development, with sustainable
development defined through the triple bottom line concept as
simultaneously achieving economic performance, social inclusion
and environmental resilience for the benefit of current and future
generations (Geissdoerfer et al., 2017)The circular economy is
developed around the idea of whole-system change directly related to
resource extraction, waste generation, product design, environmental
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awareness, innovative business models and inclusive policies.
(Bocken et al., 2017).
A circular economy is the transition from linear to circular material
flows, where resources, once taken from nature, remain in the
economy as long as possible, whereby, legal and semantic technical
processes transform waste into resources to increase the useful life of
the raw material, thus, waste does not exist in a circular economy,
therefore, the circular economy can be understood, like landfills, as
an ideological strategy (Hird et al., 2014).
The search for sustainability has pointed to the need to move from a
linear to a circular model. However, the transition is not trivial;
modifying production chains with a focus on reducing the consumption
of virgin raw materials, reducing emissions and preventing waste
generation involves implementing new processes and services, which
can add considerable environmental impacts to the supply chain. (de
Souza Junior et al., 2020)..
The circular economy, however, remains an emerging topic area and,
while the potential of increased resource circularity to contribute to
sustainable development has been widely recognized, the
relationships between the concepts of circular economy and
sustainability, the practical implementation and quantitative
evidence of the beneficial effects of circular economic practices on the
triple bottom line of the economic, environmental, and, in particular,
social domains are under-explored. (D'Amato et al., 2017).
China is one of the countries that has implemented this economic
model as a national policy for sustainable development, for which it
has established laws, as well as national projects to facilitate the
implementation of this system, in addition it has published indicators
so that in this way progress can be reported, as well as the
achievements obtained by using this type of economic model. (Geng
et al., 2012)However, the simple change to circular systems does not
necessarily result in favorable alternatives, as they can occur as trade-
offs in relation to environmental, economic or social impacts. (C. T.
de Oliveira et al., 2021)..
The transition from the current linear economic model to a circular
economy is one of the most prominent topics in academic literature,
public governance and the business domain, whereby stakeholders
have implemented circular economy strategies to decrease resource
use, as well as, the associated impacts, trying to boost economic
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competitiveness while generating a positive social impact. (Roos
Lindgreen et al., 2020)..
In the context of the shift from linear to circular model, decision
makers are faced with how to effectively address and measure the
outcomes of the transition, i.e., the impact this has on society
(Jabbour et al., 2019). Recycling practices are now also intended to
contribute to sustainable materials management by pursuing a higher
degree of material cycle closures, enhanced recovery of strategically
relevant materials and avoidance of environmental burdens
associated with the extraction and refining of raw materials. (Nelen et
al., 2014)..
The search for ways to promote sustainability through private business
models led industries to abandon classical production methods and
resort to new market demands such as the use of innovative
technologies to achieve the goals of sustainable development (Fuso Nerini
et al., 2019). In this way, the circular economy proposes an innovative
path towards sustainable development by introducing a different way of
perceiving value in the management and handling of natural
resources. (Kirchherr & Piscicelli, 2019).
The transition from linear value chains of finite resources to circular
value chains of infinite resources provides the material conditions for
continued economic growth, while reducing the environmental
impact of resource use (Gregson & Crang, 2015). Consequently, the
idea of a circular economy is based on the assumption that a market
economy can enter into an efficient and successful partnership with
the environment while maintaining current power relations, policies
and norms . (Hobson, 2013).
There are several points of convergence between circular economy,
industry 4.0 and sustainable development goals, these convergences
are mainly focused on the comprehensive promotion of
environmental sustainability through the implementation of
technologies for the benefit of circular practices that could lead to a
path to achieve sustainability (Oláh et al., 2020)In this way, the
optimization of processes, reduction of emissions and excessive use
of resources could be promoted. (Dev et al., 2020).
There is an increase in circularity indicators at both the product and
macro level, many of these measure material or value recirculation,
ostensibly as a proxy for environmental impact (Parchomenko et al.,
2019), such metrics arguably run the risk of driving actions based on
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increased circularity and not necessarily on improved environmental
performance, leading to what we call "circularity for circularity's
sake." (Tukker et al., 2013)..
The goal of the circular economy in transitioning from a linear
pattern to a circular system in which the social value of products,
materials and resources is maximized over time, however, it should
be noted that circularity in itself does not ensure social, economic
and environmental performance. The sustainability of the circular
economy should be measured against its linear counterparts to
identify and avoid strategies that increase circularity but lead to
undesirable externalities. (Walzberg et al., 2021)..
Material efficiency is a key element of new thinking to address the
challenges of reducing impacts on the environment and resource
scarcity, while at the same time meeting service demands and material
functionality, in this sense, the circular economy is directly related to
material efficiency, which is based on the principle of optimizing the
utility embodied in materials and products throughout the life cycle. Life
cycle assessment is used to evaluate the environmental benefits of
materials recovery and recycling. (Walker et al., 2018).
One of the core principles of the circular economy is a perceived
reduction of environmental impacts, therefore, it is necessary to fully
understand the implications of the circular economy, this includes
the impacts of circular products and services, as well as possible
macro effects (Saidani et al., 2019). In this context, the circular
economy has been promoted as a promising alternative to
unsustainable production systems. (Johansson & Henriksson, 2020).
By proposing a regenerative and restorative system of production and
consumption, which closes the input and output cycles of the
economy the circular economy is expected to solve the problems of
resource scarcity, biochemical flow disruption and climate change, all
while revitalizing local and regional economies (Batista et al., 2018).
However, it should be noted that a poorly managed transition could
lead to an increase in energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions.
(Monsaingeon et al., 2020)..
There is a generally recognized planetary boundary that identifies the
need to conserve at least 75% of the earth's natural ecosystems
(Steffen et al., 2015), currently, only 62% of natural ecosystems
remain, and the transition to a circular, carbon-free economy could
worsen the situation, especially if the complex interactions between
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energy, biodiversity and material resources are not adequately
addressed (Heck et al., 2018).
In this context, biodiversity provides key solutions to global problems
by reducing soil erosion, improving human health, contributing to
climate change adaptation, mitigating climate change, improving
water quality and quantity, improving soil health, reducing air
pollution, improving wastewater treatment, and inspiring human
creativity and innovation (Del Borghi et al., 2020). These nature-
based solutions must be better integrated with regenerative and
restorative circular economy practices. (Reynaud et al., 2019).
In addition, a circular economy can also lead to reduced demand for
goods through longer usage rates, reuse, repair, recycling and
refurbishment strategies, as well as single-life compartments, all of
which should significantly reduce environmental pressures (Bengtsson
et al., 2018). Thus comprehensively assessing the sustainability impacts of
the circular economy is a major challenge. (Velis, 2018).
Because a large majority of production systems that are defined as
circular generate a higher environmental impact than their linear
counterparts such as biofuels and biopolymers. In addition a circular
economy approach that focuses on eco-efficiency generates a
rebound effect, i.e., where reducing the costs of a product or service
leads to higher demand, while creating savings that incentivize
consumption in other areas (Zink & Geyer, 2017). Thus, efficiency
gains lead to higher levels of overall resource consumption in the
economy. (Junnila et al., 2018).
Conclusions
The circular economy is an innovative alternative economic system
that contributes to reducing environmental impact through
sustainable practices involving reuse, recycling and reduction, which
affect environmental sustainability because resources are used
effectively and efficiently by maintaining the value of things, while
seeking the elimination of waste to conserve biodiversity and reduce
pollution and degradation in the natural environment.
Sustainable development and circular economy are related terms
because the activities developed by the circular economy contribute
to sustainability by maximizing environmental benefits, which means
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that this innovative economic model can be considered as a strategy
for sustainable development because its objectives and principles are
interrelated, however, it should be noted that the circular economy
not only generates environmental benefits but also involves both
economic and social opportunities. Waste management, as well as the
efficient use of resources by the circular economy contributes to
reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which are the cause of climate
change, which means that the circular economy does less damage to
the environment, in this sense, a transition from the linear model to
the circular model suggests a change in the productive matrix,
diversifying the use of resources, increasing competitiveness and
technological and industrial innovation, reducing environmental
impact.
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