Circular Economy is the concept that we have come across quite recently, later you will find that the concept is new but its existence is as primal as ours is. So, There exists ‘Linear Economy’ and then there is the ‘Circular Economy’.
A linear economy is when raw material is acquired by a maker and the outcome “Product” is sold to a consumer, of course, there are enough people in this simple equation at every level like Transportation, dealer, distributor, wholesaler, etc. In this economy, nothing comes back apart from profit (Monetary or otherwise) to the person involved. For eg- Raw material supplier/grower will trade against money which may be used to buy new material for the next yields, the final consumer will consume the product to gain the benefits of nutrition (if the said product was food) or comfort ( if the said product is clothing). In this transaction, nothing returns that will automatically amplify the production of raw material and thus this is identified as the linear economy.
What’s a circular economy?
Well, the raw materials are directly affected by the final product. For example, if you buy vegetables, you make sure that you or any other competent authority is composting it back so that the compost brings back the nutrition back to the soil and this helps in better yield of the next harvest.
As you notice the concept is simple and effective. The current government’s initiative on “Compost Banao Compost Apnao” is to strengthen our fellow farmers who struggle to get a good harvest and to mother earth, as there is recharge of nutrients to the soil through composting. The idea of a circle is to bring back to the same point of start and continue so that there are minimum losses and maximum interaction.
This circular economy as a concept is new but this has been practiced since eons. The trees shed leaves which then get composted naturally and add nutrients to the soil. The fish dies in the sea and their body also decays with time and provides nutrients back to the sea ecosystem which in turn is made available for fishes to nourish upon. The idea is to facilitate the idea of Closing the loop. This will surely make them a true leader with broad and deep insights into the implications of their actions.