Transforming waste products into materials and lower value products within other industries

The principles of a circular economy concern designing out waste, regenerating ecosystems and keeping items in use. Decoupling the economy from material flows—improving the rate of resource productivity faster than the economic growth rate—is also a consistent guide. By evolving with the growing number of applications of circular economy principles, and consolidating these strategies across thematic areas, Circle Economy’s Key Elements Framework (KE) renders the elements of the circular economy salient and serves as a basis to derive contextual strategies and interventions. 


The Framework consists of:
- Core Elements: Activities directly handling product or material flows; and uniquely,
- Enabling Elements: those that remove obstacles for core actors.


Key elements of the circular economy

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Circle Economy's framework of strategies and activities that define the circular economy

Open loop downcycling

Collection programmes that process products and parts for reuse or recycling within other industries

Open loop collection

Transforming waste products, materials for reuse within other industries

Open loop upcycling

Using waste materials that have been processed and recycled to produce new products within other industries

Using open loop recycled materials

Reuse, repurpose, and recycle waste streams within other industries

Valorise waste streams - open loop

Reuse, repurpose, and recycle waste streams within the same industry

Valorise waste streams - closed loop

Recover waste energy or generate fuels and energy from waste streams

Energy recovery from waste

Utilise waste streams as a source of secondary resources and recover waste for reuse and recycling