The Circularity Gap Report 2024 reveals that the global economy's circularity has declined to 7.2 percent, down from 9.1 percent in 2018. This means less than 8 percent of consumed materials like steel, plastic, and food come from recycled or reused sources. The report, published by Circle Economy with Deloitte, highlights the persistence of the linear take-make-dispose model amid rising sustainability discussions.
The Circularity Gap Report 2024, issued by Circle Economy in partnership with Deloitte, indicates a troubling reversal in global resource use. In 2023, only 7.2 percent of materials in the economy were secondary, compared to 9.1 percent five years earlier. For every 100 pounds of resources consumed worldwide, fewer than 8 pounds derive from recycled or reused origins, while the rest are newly extracted, processed, used briefly, and often discarded.
This linear economy model, characterized as take-make-dispose, drives resource depletion, climate disruption, and waste accumulation. Despite heightened awareness of sustainability, the report shows progress stalling or regressing.
To counter this, the 9 Rs framework offers a structured approach to circularity, developed by the PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency and Utrecht University. It prioritizes strategies from highest to lowest efficiency:
- R0: Refuse prevents unnecessary materials, as seen in the EU’s Single-Use Plastics Directive banning disposables.
- R1: Rethink redesigns systems, like car-sharing platforms such as Zipcar, reducing the need for new vehicles since cars sit idle 95 percent of the time.
- R2: Reduce optimizes design and production, potentially addressing 70 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions per the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
- R3: Reuse extends product life through resale; ThredUp’s 2024 Resale Report forecasts the secondhand clothing market hitting $350 billion by 2028.
- R4: Repair promotes fixes over replacements, supported by the EU’s 2024 Right to Repair laws providing parts and manuals for up to 10 years. Annually, 49 million metric tons of e-waste generate $63 billion in recoverable value, with only 20 percent properly handled.
- R5: Refurbish restores items to near-original condition, as with certified electronics from Apple and Dell.
- R6: Remanufacture industrially rebuilds products, like Caterpillar’s program using 85 percent less energy.
- R7: Repurpose redirects materials creatively, such as Tracegrow Oy converting used batteries into organic fertilizers.
- R8: Recycle processes materials into raw forms, saving 95 percent energy for aluminum compared to virgin production.
- R9: Recover extracts energy via waste-to-energy plants as a last resort.
The hierarchy emphasizes preserving value over volume. Shifting to circular principles could generate $1.8 trillion annually in Europe and meet needs with 70 percent less material globally, according to the report and Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Yet, current emphasis on lower Rs like recycling underscores the need for policy, design, and consumer changes to invert this trend.
