CIRCULAR ECONOMY - WHAT'S IN IT FOR US?

Imagine with me a world with zero waste.

A world where we fully recover lost water…

A world where we recover construction materials from old buildings for reuse…

A world where waste plastics are reused in manufacturing …

A world where rotting waste is converted into biogas or compost for reuse…

These – and many more – are golden benefits the circular economy offers us.

And by the way, what’s a circular economy?

Circular economy is a paradigm – a mentality – that views waste differently.

A circular economy eliminates waste.

Instead, waste is converted into value.

In a circular economy, waste is a resource that can be converted into a useful product.

But why the circular economy?

Why all the fuss about it?

Several reasons –

First, non-renewable resources are dwindling…

The fossil fuels…

The mined minerals…

The industrial inputs…

All the more reason why recovery of such resources from waste is key.

Secondly, our environment suffers due to disposal of waste.

Imagine the amount of plastic waste that chocks our streams, rivers and waterways…

Imagine how much flooding this causes?

Imagine the ‘dead zones’ created in our water bodies…

– ‘dead zones’ are lakes invaded by algae which ‘suck out’ the oxygen killing fish in the process.

Last but not least, engaging creatively in the circular economy might just be profitable in the long run.

I mean – it can bring in some cash in other words.

Startups have thrived in various areas such as plastic recycling, composting, energy among others.

The circular economy offers numerous opportunities for business.

And one such opportunity is in the energy front.

ENERGY

Perhaps what comes to mind when we think energy and circular economy is biogas.

True – biogas is a way we can recycle organic waste.

But methane is just a tip of the iceberg when considering recycled energy.

The production of methane isn’t only good for our pockets but also helps put it where it belongs – in the kitchen as opposed to the air (where its global warming potential is 25 times that of carbon).

Energy from microorganisms in wastewater could be harnessed in a whole different way through fuel cell technologies.

Fuel cells are devices that convert chemical or biological forms of energy into electricity.

But energy isn’t the only front relevant to the circular economy.

FOOD

Here we’re not talking composting – even though it is one way of recycling food waste.

But consider the greenish waterbodies we often come across in our neighborhoods.

They’re not discolored by coincidence.

The green color is the presence of algae – a brand of minute water creatures that thrive on water pollutants useful in another area – agriculture

AGRICULTURAL NUTRIENTS

These nutrients – cum pollutants – include nitrates, phosphates and even ammonia.

They find their way into our wastewater through sewage (yeah, we shed off lots of these nutrients courtesy of the food we eat), industry and farming.

In turn, they wreck havoc in our waters rendering them useless for fishing.

But what if these same nutrients are extracted, repackaged and sold as fertilizer?

Perhaps heavy dependence on fertilizer imports could be reduced while allowing our farmers produce crops.

But energy and food are just two areas impacted by the circular economy.

There are many others we can consider…

Recovering water from wastewater…

Finding uses of agricultural waste…

Recycling plastics to make durable products…

Recycling e-waste…

The options are as many as our minds can imagine.

Perhaps more of us need to venture into the circular economy.

Perhaps it’s a front capable of opening up employment and business opportunities like no other.

ACTION POINT

But it starts with a mindset determined to reduce waste as much as possible.

It starts in the small ways we manage our kitchen at home…

How we treat the rubbish dump…

How we dispose those empty cartons…

How we get rid of the old phones…

It starts with seeing waste as a resource then exploring ways of reusing it.

So today, sit down with a pen and paper.

Identify and jot down any three wastes that are common in your household.

Then start a mission of researching on how to recycle or reuse them.

Who knows what awaits you on the other side.

Originally posted on Cleannovate Blog