A Circular Economy is a system which ultimately produces neither waste nor pollution by circulating materials at the highest quality with the aim of feeding them back into the biosphere to restore natural capital at the end of life.
- Circularity incorporates economic aspects (e.g. job creation, GDP growth)
- Environmental aspects (e.g. focusing on materials and resources)
- Social aspects (e.g. upliftment, development and stability).
In addition, a circular economy adopts a full lifecycle perspective, including raw material extraction and processing, design & manufacturing, use & consumption, as well as end-of-use management. Applying this logic to the African continent requires understanding of the continent’s needs and dynamics as well as to embrace the ‘make-do culture’ and resulting circular economy practices that have been developed and successfully applied over the last decades with due respect to the planet and its underlying ecosystems.
