{"id":17475,"date":"2023-12-12T10:35:31","date_gmt":"2023-12-12T14:35:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gottbs.com\/?p=17475"},"modified":"2023-12-12T10:38:13","modified_gmt":"2023-12-12T14:38:13","slug":"the-circular-economy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gottbs.com\/2023\/12\/12\/the-circular-economy\/","title":{"rendered":"The Circular Economy"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The Circular Economy<\/h1>\n

We live in a world where the linear economy, referred to as the take-make-dispose<\/em> model, prevails. It exists where resources are used to satisfy consumer product demands leading to unnecessary wastage.\u00a0 In the linear economy many companies manufacture products, which originate from massive amounts of non-recyclable, non-biodegradable, non-reusable or non-renewable raw materials, which are consumed or utilized and later disposed of, in part or whole, as waste. When these actions are committed daily by millions of people all around the world, they can contribute greatly to the increase in not just waste but also toxic waste.<\/p>\n

In a circular economy, however, the key objective is to design out product waste. It ensures that materials, products and services are kept in circulation to the furthest possible extent, thereby, contributing to improved sustainability through assisting with the challenges of resource scarcity, environmental pollution and degradation and creation of opportunities for new businesses.<\/p>\n

According to Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (2017) there are ten strategies for action to a circular economy, which include: refuse, rethink, reduce, reuse, repair, refurbish, remanufacture, repurpose, recycle and recover.<\/p>\n

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10R-ladder of Circularity Strategies<\/strong><\/p>\n

Source: Netherlands environmental assessment agency [PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency. Circular Economy: Measuring Innovation in the Product Chain. 2017. Available from: <\/em>www.pbl.nl\/en\/publications\/circular-<\/em><\/span>economy-measuring-innovation-in-product-chains<\/span> [Accessed: 2023-09-15].<\/em><\/p>\n

The Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards (TTBS) has been actively promoting awareness of the Circular Economy, primarily through two projects; these are:<\/p>\n

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  1. The Quality Infrastructure for Circular Economy in Latin America and the Caribbean (QI4CE)<\/em><\/strong>.<\/em><\/strong> German development cooperation supports this project which is jointly implemented by the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB). The project leverages the technical competencies in metrology, standardization, accreditation, and conformity assessment for the Circular Economy of the organizations comprising the Quality Infrastructure of the Americas (QICA). The Capacity Building in Technical and Scientific Organizations using Regional Experience and Knowledge (CABUREK) methodology is applied to \u201cincrease the impact of Quality Infrastructure (QI) through the promotion of better relationship between the QI and its users and the better use of existing services and competences in the region, the strengthening of the demand and user orientation of QI institutions and the facilitation of the regional exchange on experiences and best practices. The aim is to develop new QI competences and services that address the needs of users (e.g. sectors, value chains, circular economy, private and public actors).\u201d<\/li>\n
  2. The National Mirror Committee for the ISO Technical Committee (TC 323) for Circular Economy.<\/em><\/strong> This Committee was convened to provide a national perspective on International Standards, for circular economy, being developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The NMC recently submitted comments on three international standards, namely:<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n