- Title
- The circular economy: changing the shape of society
- Creator
- Touzell, Caitlyn
- Resource Type
- thesis
- Date
- 2021
- Description
- Bachelor Honours - Bachelor of Development Studies (Honours)
- Description
- I started this research with the objective of learning more about single-use plastic (SUP) and the environmental consequences of our addiction to it. The idea that we use plastic, an everlasting material, just once before being discarded seemed such a detrimental paradox. Through the findings of this research, a more vast and more pressing issue has revealed itself. Rather than being the problem, our SUP addiction is, in fact, a consequence of our dominant linear economic model. The linear economy model has emerged from capitalism and, alongside the Industrial Revolution, has triggered a significant shift in how we as a human society use and value the environment. The linear economic model is inconsistent with the finite nature of our Earth’s resources, and hence, a transition to a new economic model is urgently required. This is not only to correct the harm caused by the linear economy, but also to steer a new path of economic and environmental stability, growth and reciprocity. Through my research, I suggest the Circular Economy (CE) as an alternative model to pursue. This thesis draws largely on qualitative interviews, to extract a variety of knowledges from all scales within our society in presenting the CE as a systemic alternative to the dominant linear economy. Interview findings are used alongside news media analysis, to present holistic discussions which reflect the varying experiences and consequences of both the currently linear economy and the proposed circular economy as a solution. A case study of SUP is used to exhibit one way that linear economy principles have become embedded in our values, behaviours and, in turn, our relationship with the environment. Further, this thesis discusses the fundamental differences between the linear and circular economic models in proposing the economic, environmental and social benefits enabled through a systemic transition. And finally, this thesis analyses the need for multiscale collaboration and innovation in prompting a systemic shift to the CE, to enhance the progress already made towards this transition. Through its research findings, this thesis demonstrates a clear advantage in transitioning from a linear economy to the circular. This is evident not only in addressing our current trajectory towards a future of scarcity and instability, but in repairing our human relationship with the environment. It is only through a reconceptualisation of how we value and use resources that our society may return to a way of living which is consistent with and recognises the finite nature of the environment.
- Subject
- circular economy (CE); society; resources; economic models
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1432229
- Identifier
- uon:39030
- Rights
- Copyright 2021 Caitlyn Touzell
- Language
- eng
- Full Text
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| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT01 | Thesis | 1 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download | ||
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT02 | Abstract | 232 KB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |