Following up on landfills, planned obsolescence, and the right to repair, a circular economy offers a world where thoughtfully designed goods and their packaging result in practically no waste. Requiring a system overhaul unlikely to happen, in Part I of this segment on regenerative economy, Jorden and Kimberly focus on what we can take away from the challenges of shifting to a circular economy.

Key Topics Jorden and Kimberly discuss include:

• Just how many Rs we should be practicing


• How a circular economy is like an inverted pyramid connected to an inverted Q


• Why pursuing a circular economy is like replacing the entire hull of a ship at sea


• Why the world needs to reuse a whole lot more than the measly current 9%


• How waste streams around the world keep the system in stasis


• Why integrating a circular economy is unlikely to happen, but worth pursuing

Recommended Resources

• About a circular economy, with visuals!


• About Germany’s Green Dot system and the Eurostat data


• The WEF details of a circular economy


• The ambitious 10 R’s of a circular economy


• The 7 pillars of the circular economy


• Kimberly’s Substack newsletter post