CIRCULAR ECONOMY
CIRCULAR ECONOMY IS not just essential to stop the planet from running out of its natural resources , it can also lift the developing world out of poverty .
The Industrial Revolution saw the transition from making items by hand to using machines powered by steam and coal . This lifted a large portion of the western world out of poverty by making production more efficient , as well as developing railways , communication systems and banking .
But this was only the first revolution . The second , which extended into the early 20th century , brought electricity to industries along with the first cars and airplanes .
These advances were essential to growing the economy , which is how the linear system of producing and then discarding began . This inevitably resulted in harmful gas emissions and huge quantities of waste , and is still how the world works today . 250 years later , with the earth ’ s natural resources and space to dispose of rubbish running out , this simply isn ’ t fit for purpose anymore .
The more recent third industrial revolution uses technology and digitisation to automate services , but
we are now in the midst of the fourth , which is taking this many steps further with innovations like artificial intelligence , 3D , the Internet of Things , self-driving vehicles , and cloud storage among many others .
The emergence of circular economy Thanks to these developments along with wireless devices and smartphones , the world is becoming seamlessly connected , making it possible to reach out and help the communities who need it the most and all without harming the environment .
Just as the linear economy improved the livelihoods of vast swathes of the western world ’ s population , the new circular economy , which consists of wasting less and making best use of what is already available by recycling and repairing , can have the same impact in the developing world .
Joe Iles is the Digital Architect at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation , the charity that works with businesses
10 September 2017