The definition of the circular economy is ” an alternative to a traditional linear economy (make, use, dispose) in which we keep resources in use for as long as possible, extract the maximum value from them whilst in use, then recover and regenerate products and materials at the end of each service life.”
That sounds easy but is it? Looking at everything you use, where it comes from, what it’s made of and how you dispose it isn’t quite as simple as you’d think but there are things you can do to change one step at a time.
Packaging is an obvious place to start – both at home and at work. The supermarkets are doing a lot of work to ensure that they reduce the amount of plastic packaging that they use. Buying loose fruit and vegetables is a small step which will make a huge difference. You could use paper bags which are recyclable rather than the plastic bags which we’ve all become used to. A small thing but if we all do it, the amount of packing going into landfill or recycling will start to reduce.
What about in the kitchen at home? Do you cook from scratch or do you buy processed foods? Processed food has it’s place and is quick and convenient when you’re in a rush but it can work out expensive, be packed in plastic containers and often doesn’t tick all the boxes for being eco-friendly.
Do you have food left over which you throw away? There is a great website called Too Good To Go which has some great ideas on how to use up surplus food or items which perhaps you’d normally throw away. It can also be used by catering outlets as well to increase their revenue and find new customers.
This is a fantastic way to reduce waste at home or in a catering business and helps with the circular economy.
It’s not always so easy and sometimes it needs a bit of lateral thinking to find an alternative process or product to use in order to reduce your carbon footprint but if you take it one step at a time, you will get there.