The discussion between Dutch designer Richard Hutten and Ellen MacArthur Foundation CEO Andrew Morlet at the inaugural Dezeen Day conference last year was one of the liveliest, with the two disagreeing over whether plastic can be part of a circular economy.
Morlet, who runs circular economy advocate the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, kicked off the talk by explaining the difference between a linear economy and a circular economy.
The former involves products with short-term use and extreme waste from low levels of recycling, while the latter focuses on reuse, repair and "continuous material flows".
"Many people equate the circular economy to be something like better recycling," said Morlet. "But actually, it's a systems view of how to keep materials used and in use for as much as possible at the highest value."
"It's an economy that's based on three principles," Morlet explained. "Designing out waste and pollution right upfront. How do we think about keeping products and materials in use at the highest value for as long as possible" And how do we think about an economy that is, by design, regenerative and restorative in nature""
Morlet talked about the global plastic trash crisis and described the work of the foundation, including its groundbreaking 2016 The New Plastics Economy report, which set out how plastic could be part of a circular economy.
Hutten, a designer based in Rotterdam, jumped into the conversation, ...