In a world that is constantly growing, now more than ever, it is very important we start prioritizing the implementation of a circular economy and start leaning away from the traditional, linear economy. According to the article, the linear economy has been active ever since the beginning of the First Industrial Revolution. Back then the world only had less than 1 billion people, which did not put as much of a strain on the Earth when using this method. Now, with around 8 billion people inhabiting the planet, the world can simply not keep up with the amount of waste that is undergoing the planet using the traditional method. Therefore, nowadays many businesses and schools are starting to educate their workers and students on what a circular economy is and how it can be achieved.

A circular economy is one that simply optimizes the use of one’s natural resources by reusing, recycling, remanufacturing, and reducing wasted materials. This method helps to significantly improve the state of the environment. In this economy, there really is no waste, because there is a place for it and it can be used to make something else. It uses all aspects of the raw materials that are used to make products, rather than just throwing them away at the drop of a hat. It also encourages the optimization of renewable energy and attempts to stay away from any unnecessary fossil fuels or nonrenewable energy.

In this economy, there are several benefits that affect the environment, the economy, consumers, and of course businesses. The circular economy has been known to boost economic growth, create new jobs, lower costs and generate better profits, strengthen the value of land, along with its soil, improve the health of the people, and of course reduce carbon emissions and greenhouse gases. With that being said, you might wonder why it is not completely in effect right now, if there are so many positives within this system. Well, there are of course some challenges and barriers that are faced as well. This would include an abrupt change in the current way of doing things. The article states there are four categories of barriers businesses need to pay close attention to. These are the cultural, regulatory, technological, and market sectors. It would be very difficult to get several countries in all parts of the world to engage due to the different policy regulations, the lack of technologies among certain countries, the different economic status of countries, and the different awareness and willingness to participate. All of these variable make it more challenging to begin the process of the circular economy. However, I believe as more time goes on, we will gradually start leaning towards a more circular economy, even despite of the challenges.