It's hard to disagree with the goal of a circular economy. Since resources on Earth are ultimately finite, at some point we will have to make the most of what we build and consume (unless we move to another planet, of course). A circular economy suggests that we accomplish this by using things as long as possible, then refurbishing, remanufacturing, and ultimately recycling them into new forms before finally disposing of them. Crafting products from virgin materials would be a last resort.
But while the circular economy has been mentioned more and more, it is entirely failing to manifest thus far. According to the Circle Economy Foundation, "the share of secondary materials consumed by the global economy has decreased from 9.1% in 2018 to 7.2% in 2023." We're actually going backwards.
In a recent article published to the Journal of Industrial Ecology, Julian Kirchherr, a researcher at the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development (CISD) at Utrecht University, and Kris Hartley, an Assistant Professor of Sustainability and Enterprise at Arizona State University, wondered what gives?
"Sluggish progress on circular economy implementation is raising some concern that this allegedly new paradigm for sustainability is failing," they wrote.
While governments are increasingly embracing tenets of a circular economy in policy efforts, by and large their actions are mostly lip service.
The situation is worse in the private sector. A 2022 study found that circular economy principles are integrated into sustainability sections in only 7% of company reports, and that mentions in such reports are “largely superficial and inconsistent."
Overall, while advocacy for a circular economy has grown, particularly within academia, it has not solicited action by major stakeholders. Right now, it remains cheaper – and oftentimes more environmentally friendly – to utilize virgin materials rather than recycled ones. This could change as products like semiconductors, solar panels, lithium ion batteries, increasingly clog waste streams and processes to extract their valuable materials mature.
"We conclude by clarifying that, in simple terms, we do not believe the circular economy is failing," Kirchherr and Hartley write. Rather, it is advancing incrementally, and its breakout moment may yet be to come.
Source: Kirchherr, J., & Hartley, K. (2025). Is circular economy a failing sustainability paradigm? Not necessarily. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1111/jiec.70055
