GEF

Unit 10  |  Toward a Sustainable Future 213 In a circular economy, waste is recycled or resued as a resource. A circular economy approach provides an alternative to a traditional linear economy , in which products are produced, used, and discarded. In a circular economy, designers consider the entire life cycle of a product, which means from the time the product is created or assembled until its disposal. Life-cycle assessment (LCA) accounts for all the energy and materials used to design, develop, manufacture, and dispose of a prod- uct. This includes all the impacts associated with a product or service, including the pollution that it generates. A cradle-to-cradle life-cycle approach ensures a product will be recycled into another use. This approach preserves a prod- uct’s inherent value for reuse in industrial production or safe integration into biological cycles. In cradle-to-cradle design, wasted material and energy are considered design flaws that need to be improved. A cradle-to-grave life cycle approach addresses the need to dispose of the product but not necessar- ily to reuse or recycle the parts. LINEAR ECONOMY A traditional approach to the production and use of prod- ucts and services in which resources are used and then discarded. LIFE-CYCLE ASSESSMENT An analysis of the entire energy, materials, and waste parameters of products and services throughout their entire life. CRADLE-TO-CRADLE A form of sustainable design where products are designed to be recycled into new prod- ucts or safely reincorporated into the biosphere at the end of their useful life. CRADLE-TO-GRAVE The entire life of a material or product from creation up to the point of disposal.