global consumer-goods industry worth $3.2 trillion are not recovered. Most of this material could be reused.
Dr Zia said products are designed in circular economy in such a way that enables cycles of disassembly and reuse. This way the waste is either eliminated or greatly reduced, he added.
Getting back the product after its full use is a problematic job. To resolve this issue, the role of consumer is being restricted to its user. Since restoration is the default assumption in a circular economy, the role of consumer is replaced by that of user.
In buy-consume economy, the priority of the manufacturer is to sell the product. This will change in circular economy where the producer would rent out the product; so that when it is returned all its materials could be reused. Another way of getting back the products would be to create incentives for the consumers that guarantee return and reuse.
Market analyst Benish Toor said a global manufacturer of office machines, copiers and printers Ricoh has introduced a brand of copiers and printers, which are leased to the consumers. When the products are received back after expiry of leasing agreements, the machines are dismantled and screened extensively for refurbishing. Some components are replaced and software updated before the machines reenter the market.
Quality of refurbished products is good, which is why these refurbished machines account for 10 to 20 percent of Ricoh’s sales in six European countries.
Benish said the company earns two times higher profit without compromising on the quality than it could earn from comparable new products.
Circular economy aims to eradicate waste—not just from manufacturing processes but systematically, throughout the various life cycles and uses of products and their components.
“What we usually perceive as waste may become feedstock for the successive steps. It is the tight component and product cycles of use and reuse, made possible through product design, which distinguishes circular economy from recycling, which loses large amounts of embedded energy and labour,” Benish said.
He added that circular system introduces a strict differentiation between consumable and durable components.
Producers in current day economy often don’t distinguish between the two.
Durable components like plastics and metals are reused or upgraded for other productive processes through innumerable cycles.