Circularity is often visualized as a closed loop.
But does a resource really need to return to the same product, process, or industry to be considered circular?
The truth is:
by oversimplifying it to ‘closed loop’ we deliver highly sub-optimal (or even damaging) outcomes !
What we should not forget is that the purpose of a regenerative economy is
– to understand the complex nutrient flows
– design them to be re-integrated to the environment to be in dynamic equilibrium.
– realising the potential of their nutrient value in the form of utility (use).
In that system, the goal is not to close a single loop, but to create connected systems where resources continue delivering value across multiple applications.
Is it hard to understand a true regenerative economy ?
It’s simple, all we got to do is to think
– nutrient flows
– value potential of the nutrient
– inter-connected systems and system optimisation
– re-integration to deliver value, continuously in dynamic equilibrium and in harmony with the (biological or industrial) environment.
In practice, some of the most effective circular solutions emerge when materials, components, or by-products find a new purpose elsewhere in the economy.
So say not simplification – The beauty of what it delivers lies in the complexity of the system and designing it to deliver value (environmental and economic) as a whole.
