Explaining the Circular Economy and How Society Can Re-think Progress | Animated Video Essay

There's a world of opportunity to re-think and re-design the way we make stuff.

'Re-Thinking Progress' explores how through a change in perspective we can re-design the way our economy works - designing products that can be 'made to be made again' and powering the system with renewable energy. It questions whether with creativity and innovation we can build a restorative economy.

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Thank you for watching this video. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is a UK charity working on business, learning, insights & analysis, and communications to accelerate the transition towards the circular economy.

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[worldview]

This video is made TEN YEARS AGO and it is one of the BEST made videos im currently watching in 2021.

[SLR_]

0:36 When you replace your old phone with a new washing machine.

[zerowastemontenegro]

Here is the transcript:

Living systems have been around for a few billions years, and will be around for many more. In the living world, there is no landfill: instead, materials flow. One species waste is another’s food, energy is provided by the sun, things grow, and dye, and nutrients return to the soil safely. And it works. Yet as humans, we have adopted a linear approach. We take, we make, and we dispose. A new phone comes out, so we ditch the old one. Our washing machine packs up, so we buy another. Each time we do this, we are eating in a finite supply of resources, and often producing toxic waste. It simply can’t work long-term. So what can? If we accept that the living world cyclical model works, can WE change our way of thinking, so that we too operate a circular economy. Let’s start with the biological cycle: how can our waste build capital rather than reduce it? By rethinking and redesigning products and components and the packaging they come in, we can create safe and compostable materials that help grow more stuff. As they say in the movies: no ressources have been lost in the making of this material! So what about the washing machines, mobile phones, fridges…? We know they don’t biodegrade. Here, we are talking about another sort of rethinking. A way to cycle valuable metals, polymers and alloys, so they maintain their quality and continue to be usueful beyond the shelf life of individual products. What if the goods of today become the resources of tomorrow? It makes commercial sense: instead of the throw away and replace culture we become used to, we adopt a return and renew one, where products and components are designed to be disassembled and regenerated. One solution maybe to rethink the way we view ownership. What if we actually never own our technologies? We simply licence them from the manufacturers. Now, let’s put the biological cycle and the technical cycle together. Imagine if we could design products to come back to their makers, their technical material being reused, and their biological increasing agricultural value. And imagine that these products are made and transported using renewable energy. Here we have a model that builds prosperity long-term. And the good news is, there are already companies out there who are beginning to adopt this way of working. But a circular economy is not about ONE manufacturer changing ONE product. It is about ALL the interconnecting companies that form our infrastructure and economy - coming together. It is about energy, it is about rethinking the operating system itself. We have a fantastic opportunity to open new perspectives and new horizons. Instead of remaining trapped in the frustrations of the present. With creativity and innovation, we really can rethink and redesign OUR future.

[donnaharden]

It is great that this concept goes beyond recycling. Recycling alone does not deal with what happens with the end product- it can make one feel as though you are doing the right thing but still the world is filling up with that simultaneously fantastic and destructive plastic- we need an alternative and we need it now

[jerushapillay]

Great video and informative
If only companies would allow for broken machines to be returned, making re-cycling of machines more visible

[mathieupirsoul]

My students from the wood sector are very happy with these explanations. Thank you.

[markheadroom]

2:15 re-think the way we view ownership - it's not clear how replacing ownership with licensing is necessarily a part the circular economy. There are other models that could result in products going back to their makers, such as (for example) the way disposal and recycling of packaging materials is the responsibility of manufacturers in Germany, or the way glass bottle deposits work in many countries.

[TroyAlonzio]

Lease instead of own? We are really being desensitized into thinking ownership isn’t good. I don’t want to pay a subscription for everything.

[zoeskinner]

The insane thing is that as well as reducing waste and re-using resources, a circular economy would also help develop both skills and a sense of community among populations, as there are many ways a circular economy can and SHOULD operate at a community level e.g. neighbourhood mutual aid groups.

[melcol]

Watching this a day before my environmental science exam!

[AlastairRonald]

@Jamrozio87 To clear things up:

1. Making prdocts from scratch both uses exothermic and endothermic reactions, which change the covalent molecular structure of the material.
2. Recycling means, in most cases, heating the materials up, changing the phase of the material from solid to liquid, and then letting the material cool down.

When recycling materials, it will use energy to heat them up and it may be uneconomical if making the products from scratch is EXOTHERMIC.

[tillycomedy]

This is basically what the WEF want to do. It sounds really awesome, but then there are the questions of who’s responsible for getting all the logistics done? A human will still need to supervise the AI systems.

[projectdevelopment]

Crazy, 9 Years later and it still hasnit even partially happened enough eventhigh it gets more and more urgent every day!🤔🌱♻️

[henriquedeoliveira]

There are many alternatives within the market system that can make things work: taxes, laws etc. The problem is when the lobbying groups get the upper hand in convincing governments not to put those in place.

[eify]

this is pure genius!! i loved the part about 'borrowing' from the manufactures. When we give it back, perhaps they could reuse the same material to create even more good stuff. And if the returned material isn't usable, they can simply recycle. Nothing goes in the landfill, which is awesome.

[AlastairRonald]

@Jamrozio87 To clear things up:

1. Making prdocts from scratch both uses exothermic and endothermic reactions, which change the covalent molecular structure of the material.
2. Recycling means, in most cases, heating the materials up, changing the phase of the material from solid to liquid, and then letting the material cool down.

When recycling materials, it will use energy to heat them up and it may be uneconomical if making the products from scratch is EXOTHERMIC. Comprenday?

[profmsc.joseantoniofariasc]

The text highlights a crucial paradigm shift from the linear to the circular economy, inspired by natural cycles. It's a perspective that not only promotes environmental sustainability, but also drives innovation and creates economic opportunities. The idea of ​​rethinking ownership and adopting licensing rather than ownership models may seem counterintuitive at first, but it can lead to more efficient use of resources and a significant reduction in waste.

Furthermore, the concept of recycling valuable materials such as metals and polymers to prolong their usefulness is essential to ensure that resources are used more effectively. Meanwhile, the emphasis on collaboration across companies and sectors to create a broader, interconnected circular economy may seem challenging initially, but it offers an incredible opportunity to rethink and redesign the entire operating system, driving systemic change toward sustainability.

Therefore, the transition to a circular economy not only offers practical solutions to the environmental challenges we face today, but also presents exciting opportunities to fundamentally transform the way we live and do business.

[mikeOshae]

Dayz of Noah brought me here from Anchorage, AK... "Lets Go Brandon!!!"

[Larry]

I'm absorbed by the potency of this material. A book with comparable insights shifted my worldview. "A Life Unplugged: Reclaiming Reality in a Digital Age" by Theodore Blaze

[yahshaunyahu]

World Economic Forum
"You'll own nothing and be happy for it "