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Materials-Climate Nexus

The Circular Economy

In a linear economy, natural resources are extracted from the environment and transformed into products that are consumed and ultimately disposed as waste. A recycling economy is better, but only addresses what we do with materials at their "end of life." A circular economy aims to eliminate waste and close the loop through product design and innovative business models, continuously cycling materials through 

 

Materials and Embodied Carbon

Embodied carbon refers to the CO2 emissions associated with making products. These emissions occur when energy is used during raw material extraction and transport and product manufacturing.
 
Many of StopWaste's waste reduction programs focus on the "reduce" and "reuse" phases of the reduce-reuse-recycle waste management hierarchy. Reduce and reuse strategies target waste upstream of disposal, and have the co-benefit of reducing associated carbon emissions. 
 
StopWaste is currently prioritizing three areas with significant potential to both reduce waste and embodied carbon: the built environment, organics and packaging.
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