– Circular Economy is happening since ever –
We are now adapting it to the 21st. century!
But Circular Economy is more than just recycling materials.
Circular Economy should include, besides recycling products at the end of their lifetime also the extension of the product’s use-time.
Using products as long as possible will not only reduce the pollution cause by the production of new products but will also minimize the End of Life waste.
Providing products which are designed for longer usage times, easy repair, effective refurbishment & remanufacturing are essential processes for extending the time the product is used.
There have been many research projects investigating the technological and logistical conditions for extending the use-time of products.
“ The circular model incentivises the remanufacturing of goods to recover intrinsic product value, aiming at minimizing new consumption of new raw materials.”
Aurich, J. C., Fuchs, C., & Wagenknecht, C. (2006). Life cycle oriented design of technical Product-Service Systems. Journal of Cleaner Production, 14(17), 1480-1494.