The European Commission has launched a programme that promotes the Circular Economy.
As it is stated at their website: “What is a circular economy? Since the industrial revolution, waste has constantly grown. This is because our economies have used a “take-make-consume and dispose” pattern of growth – a linear model which assumes that resources are abundant, available and cheap to dispose of. What we need is a more circular economy. This means re-using, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products. What used to be regarded as ‘waste’ can be turned into a resource. The aim is to look beyond waste and to close the loop of the circular economy. All resources need to be managed more efficiently throughout their life cycle. ”
European institutions have become aware of the importance of making our patterns of consumtion more efficient. For this reason, the European Commision has presented a programme that explain the strategy of the Circular Economy and how Europe will implement it.
At their website, they also remark the economic benefits of this large-scale programme and how it can boost employment opportunities in Europe: “Using resources more efficiently will also bring new growth and job opportunities. Better eco-design, waste prevention and reuse can bring net savings for EU businesses of up to EUR 600 billion, while also reducing total annual greenhouse gas emissions. Additional measures to increase resource productivity by 30% by 2030 could boost GDP by nearly 1%, while creating 2 million additional jobs.”