Published in Ellen MACARTHUR FOUNDATION
WHAT IS
THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY?
A circular economy is based on the principles of designing out waste and pollution, keeping products and materials in use, and regenerating natural systems.
WHERE WE HAVE COME FROM
A transformation in our ability to make things changed society.
We’ve been at a turning point before. In 1684 Thomas Savery invented the steam engine and it changed everything. This invention kick-started the industrial revolution, which transformed our ability to make things. Raw materials and energy were seemingly infinite, and labor was readily available. For the first time in history, goods were mass-produced.
HOW THIS LOOKS TODAY
We turn resources into an extraordinary number of products.
Since the industrial revolution, the rapid pace of technological progress has continued. The resulting innovations mean that many now have access to products from all over the world at affordable prices. These products have brought many of us levels of material comfort unimaginable to previous generations.
The current system is no longer working for businesses, people, or the environment.
We take resources from the ground to make products, which we use, and, when we no longer want them, throw them away. Take-make-waste. We call this a linear economy.