This post will detail research into the circular economy and Luxembourg city.
The circular economy is a model that promotes the recycling and use of existing materials, making sure they last as long as they possibly can. Geissdoerfer et al. (2017) stated that the most agreed upon definition of the circular economy is “an industrial economy that is restorative or regenerative by intention and design”.
The three pillars of the circular economy are eliminating waste and pollution, circulating products and materials and the regeneration of nature. In essence, the circular economy is a model that promotes the sustainability of resources and the environment so that the world is sustained for future generation as well as ourselves.
A city that closely follows these pillars is Luxembourg City. This city is built around sustaining the environment around it for those living there currently and in the future. One example of the city following the pillars is the waste treatment plant. This plant is used to incinerate all waste that cannot be recycled, excess heat from the plant is redistributed for the generation of power and heating for the city. As well as that the city has bio diverse areas spread around. These include community gardens, parks and green public areas as well as bee keeping within the city to promote pollination.
References:
Martin Geissdoerfer, Paulo Savaget, Nancy Bocken, Erik Jan Hultink (2017) The Circular Economy – A New Sustainable Paradigm? Journal of Cleaner Products. Available online: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311776801_The_Circular_Economy_-_A_new_sustainability_paradigm [Accessed 19/10/2022]
Wikipedia (2020) An illustration of the circular economy concept [Image] Available online: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circular_economy#/media/File:The_Circular_Economy_concept.png [Accessed 19/10/2022]
Laurent, D (2022) Luxembourg City’s commitment to the environment [Image] Available online: https://www.vdl.lu/en/city/projects-and-commitments/environment [Accessed 23/10/2022]