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Chapter 2
The Circular Economy as a unifying concept
The term ‘circular economy’ is only a few decades old; the concept,
however, goes back centuries. This chapter traces the origins of
the circular economy, explaining what it actually is and why it is
so promising.
2.1 A Short History of the Concept
Handling resources with prudence was a more widely implemented
idea in the past than the present. Farmers worked in a regenerative
closed system, using all residuals within their waste streams. For
producers and consumers, reusing and recycling products was
often common practice because materials represented value.
But the industrial revolution changed the relationship between
individuals and materials, marking the beginning of our linear
mind-set. 6 After World War II, the linear economy began to prevail.
This negative development worried experts.
A pivotal point came in 1966, when Kenneth Boulding used the
‘Spaceship Earth’ analogy. 7 Boulding called for a closed economy
6 Lieder, M. and Rashid, A., Towards Circular Economy Implementation:
A Comprehensive Review in Context of Manufacturing Industry,
Journal of Cleaner Production, 2016, 115, 36-51.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.12.042.
7 Boulding, K.E., The Economics of the Coming Spaceship Earth, in: Jarrett,
H. (Ed.). Environmental Quality in a Growing Economy, Baltimore, MD:
Resources for the Future/Johns Hopkins University Press, 1966, 3-14.