Closing the Loop

The pursuit of a circular economy doesn’t end at capturing waste and recycling and composting as much as possible. In fact, in following the Zero Waste Hierarchy it is important to recognize that we must also rethink business models, such as transition to product-as-a-service, redesign products for durability, reuse and recycling, and reduce and reuse as much as possible. Products and packaging items can be identified individually within product supply chains to ensure items are recovered and reused as much as possible. For example, a glass bottle can be recovered, cleaned and reused 22 times before needing to be recycled. The sharing economy can optimize the use of products and equipment such that more value can be extracted per unit produced. Ultimately, the consumer must be the driving force behind the transition to Zero Waste. The $CARROT protocol will be able to assist in providing the data needed to better inform consumers. We briefly discuss below a few of the ways in which $CARROT partners can build Zero Waste solutions for consumers in order to help “close the loop.”