0:00:00.757,0:00:04.710
Living systems have been around[br]for a few billion years

0:00:04.710,0:00:06.854
and will be around for many more.

0:00:07.583,0:00:10.639
In the living world, there's no landfill.

0:00:10.668,0:00:12.708
Instead, materials flow.

0:00:13.218,0:00:15.697
One species waste is another's food.

0:00:15.772,0:00:17.947
Energy is provided by the Sun.

0:00:18.023,0:00:19.173
Things grow, then die.

0:00:19.832,0:00:23.247
And nutrients return to the soil safely.

0:00:23.967,0:00:25.576
And it works.

0:00:26.411,0:00:27.939
Yet as humans,

0:00:27.939,0:00:29.681
we've adopted a linear approach.

0:00:29.681,0:00:32.356
We take, we make, and we dispose.

0:00:33.364,0:00:36.464
A new phone comes out[br]so we ditch the old one.

0:00:37.755,0:00:40.236
Our washing machine packs up[br]so we buy another.

0:00:40.871,0:00:45.916
Each time we do this, we're eating[br]into a finite supply of resources

0:00:46.399,0:00:49.098
and often producing toxic waste.

0:00:49.410,0:00:51.655
It simply can't work long-term.

0:00:52.182,0:00:54.065
So what can -

0:00:55.918,0:00:58.838
if we accept that the living world's[br]cyclical model works -

0:00:59.122,0:01:01.930
can we change our way of thinking

0:01:01.930,0:01:05.797
so that we too operate a circular economy?

0:01:06.223,0:01:08.892
Let's start with the biological cycle.

0:01:09.339,0:01:13.524
How can our waste build capital[br]rather than reduce it?

0:01:14.110,0:01:17.702
By rethinking and redesigning[br]products and components

0:01:17.702,0:01:19.514
and the packaging they come in,

0:01:19.766,0:01:22.784
we can create safe[br]and compostable materials

0:01:23.138,0:01:25.700
that help grow more stuff.

0:01:25.929,0:01:28.121
As they say in the movies,

0:01:28.348,0:01:31.443
"No resources have been lost[br]in the making of this material."

0:01:31.782,0:01:36.395
So what about the washing machines,[br]mobile phones, fridges?

0:01:36.581,0:01:38.999
We know they don't biodegrade.

0:01:39.246,0:01:42.637
Here we're talking[br]about another sort of rethink:

0:01:42.890,0:01:45.400
a way to cycle valuable metals,

0:01:45.650,0:01:46.968
polymers and alloys

0:01:47.256,0:01:49.231
so they maintain their quality

0:01:49.466,0:01:50.830
and continue to be useful

0:01:51.079,0:01:53.424
beyond the shelf life[br]of individual products.

0:01:53.700,0:01:59.221
What if the goods of today[br]became the resources of tomorrow?

0:01:59.386,0:02:00.903
It makes commercial sense.

0:02:01.109,0:02:05.341
Instead of the throw away[br]and replace culture we become used to,

0:02:05.558,0:02:08.331
we'd adopt a return and renew one

0:02:08.665,0:02:12.977
where products and components are designed[br]to be disassembled and regenerated.

0:02:13.230,0:02:18.502
One solution may be to rethink[br]the way we view ownership.

0:02:18.734,0:02:22.135
What if we never actually[br]owned our technologies?

0:02:22.418,0:02:25.309
We simply license them[br]from the manufacturers.

0:02:25.569,0:02:29.570
Now let's put these two cycles together.

0:02:29.846,0:02:33.592
Imagine if we could design products[br]to come back to their makers,

0:02:33.893,0:02:36.649
their technical materials being reused,

0:02:36.649,0:02:40.769
and their biological parts[br]increasing agricultural value.

0:02:40.769,0:02:44.567
And imagine that these products[br]are made and transported

0:02:44.567,0:02:47.044
using renewable energy.

0:02:47.044,0:02:50.730
Here we have a model[br]that builds prosperity long-term.

0:02:50.984,0:02:54.878
And the good news is[br]there are already companies out there

0:02:54.878,0:02:57.604
who are beginning to adopt[br]this way of working.

0:02:57.614,0:03:02.856
But the circular economy isn't about[br]one manufacturer changing one product.

0:03:03.426,0:03:07.940
It's about all the interconnecting[br]companies that form our infrastructure

0:03:08.031,0:03:11.023
and economy coming together.

0:03:11.338,0:03:12.995
It's about energy.

0:03:13.281,0:03:16.987
It's about rethinking[br]the operating system itself.

0:03:17.269,0:03:24.078
We have a fantastic opportunity[br]to open new perspectives and new horizons.

0:03:24.270,0:03:28.071
Instead of remaining trapped[br]in the frustrations of the present,

0:03:28.292,0:03:30.901
with creativity and innovation,

0:03:30.901,0:03:35.631
we really can rethink[br]and redesign our future.

0:03:41.141,0:03:44.892
[Ellen MacArthur Foundation[br]Rethink the future]

0:03:44.907,0:03:47.325
[www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org]