Dusseldorf Humans extract more than 100 billion tons of raw materials such as oil, gas and metals from the earth every year – but only around nine percent of them are currently re-used after use. A far larger proportion could be reintroduced into the economic cycle.
So how can we use as many raw materials as possible for as long as possible? One answer to this could be the concept of “circular economy”. The aim is to reduce the use of resources within the economic system and thus, among other things, prevent environmental pollution and counteract emissions and energy waste. In the ideal case, this creates a regenerative system characterized by recycling and renewal.
In some areas, the circular economy is already common practice in Germany. But can we actually move from a more linear economy – in which most of the raw materials are not recycled – to a fully circular economy?
Answers to these and other questions can be found in the new podcast from Handelsblatt Green Christina Dornack, professor for waste and recycling management at the Technical University of Dresden.
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