The Longevity of Technological Products Isn’t Great, But There Is Hope

Do you remember those old cell phone ads where they would show you how durable your phone can be? Would you say that phones have maintained that element of longevity? Has anything that you have recently purchased been manufactured to last? The likelihood is slim. Even houses are designed not to last a long time. Once something we’ve purchased perishes, it finds a new home in a landfill and will most likely have a toxic impact on the surrounding soil. Did you know every bit of plastic ever produced is still on the planet?

Drawing a Line in Production

It is safe to assess that the traditional linear mode of production has not integrated well thus far with the cyclic nature of our planet’s biological cycle. The open-ended nature of our linear economy is the unprecedented amount of waste created. This waste causes irreparable damage to the environment, from the extraction of primary resources, right through to the end of production. When a small element of your appliance stops working, you can replace it altogether, throwing away fully functional components. Are businesses reluctant to change because their industry might enter an unpredictable space?

The World of Circular Economics

Concepts like Circular Economics (CE) see potential growth in alternative businesses by creating a closed-loop system that eliminates the waste element. Waste is not waste until it is wasted, and CE is a sigh of relief as to an alternative solution to how we run a business sustainably and efficiently. CE is a future-orientated business model that incorporates waste into businesses by repurposing waste into components needed. CE imitates the cyclic system of nature that changes how we conceptualize issues like waste management and ownership. Instead of reducing the amount of waste created, corporations should find the means to generate a profit by reintroducing the product back into the business model.

Piece by Piece

Our interconnected foundation that makes society function should incorporate the CE perspective of value and energy usage in the conception and production of products. Instead of replacing your entire phone, why not purchase the single component you need? There are upcoming companies that return old goods and process the parts through their technical cycle to create renewed products to reintroduce into the market. Essentially, this entire process reduces waste nearly entirely. If we all support this system, we might have a beautiful, sustainable future ahead. Businesses are starting to create that space to reevaluate the concept of ownership — what have you done?