An economy designed to self-regenerate: from consumption to use

[nurmohammadkhan]

In recent years, with the growing attention paid to resource and environmental sustainability, the circular economy has become an increasingly popular topic in academia, business and policy. In contrast to the traditional linear economic model of “extraction-production-consumption of resources-disposal”, the circular economy presents a closed cycle and production flow , underlining that products should be used efficiently and recycled at the end of their life cycle. The profound meaning of the act of consumption takes on a broader scope, escaping the specific meaning of a destructive and definitive action and is instead projected into a possible – and distant – time horizon .

This consideration leads us to reflect on a distinction , not only terminological nepal whatsapp resource but substantial, which for the discussion we are addressing here seems particularly interesting, and that is the one between consumers and users . In a circular economy, biological materials are the only ones that can be considered consumables, while technological tools are not consumed but more properly used. For this reason, it is inaccurate to say that we consume our household appliances or our means of transport in the same way as we consume food. It is a subtle distinction, but important, because it helps us to frame our relationship with objects and services differently.

It is a distinction that also raises a series of questions that revolve around the need to own products , or rather, that revolves around the traditional forms in which we experience this need for ownership.