Circular economy is a way to minimize environmental and social damage caused by global warming.

In the current economy, we extract natural resources from the Earth to create products and then dispose of them as waste. This process is linear and is known as the linear economy.

The linear model can no longer be sustained amid the ecological crisis due to massive resource extraction and high energy use.

What is circular economy?

Circular economy is a model where resources are used continuously in a closed loop. In a circular economy, resources or materials do not become waste.

Summarized from the GreenPeace website, in a circular economy, resources or materials do not become waste.

Instead, products and materials remain in circulation through maintenance, repair, recycling, reuse, and composting.

Circular economy addresses climate change and other global challenges such as biodiversity loss, waste, and pollution.

The Importance of Sustainable Waste Management in Circular Economy

Sustainable waste management is key to circular economy.

According to Waste4Change, sustainable waste management focuses on recycling, reducing waste before it reaches landfills, and using technology.

This approach aims to minimize waste production and maintain sustainability for the benefit of future generations.

Examples of Circular Economy

Indonesia has adopted the circular economy concept into its Vision Indonesia 2045. One example of circular economy implementation by the government through the Ministry of Public Works and Housing (PUPR) is the plastic asphalt program.

The type of plastic waste used is HDPE (High-Density Polyethylene) from shopping bags.

A study by the Ministry of PUPR showed a 40% increase in road durability. The maintenance period is also longer, at 7 years compared to 5 years for regular asphalt.

Private company PT Chandra Asri Petrochemical Tbk also implements plastic asphalt as part of the circular economy for #IndonesiaAsri.

According to Kontan.co.id (4/8/2022), Chandra Asri’s ESG & Sustainability Director, Phuping Taweersarp, stated that the company uses 37.5 million plastic waste sheets, equivalent to 282 tons of waste from landfills.

“We target 140 km of plastic asphalt roads by 2025,” he said.

What Can We Do as Warga Asri?

As Warga Asri, we can contribute to the circular economy through sustainable waste management.

One way is to participate in the 365 Actions challenge in the #IndonesiaAsri campaign, #AksiAsri365, on the website indonesiaasri.com. #AksiAsri365 is an initiative by Chandra Asri to create an environmentally conscious generation through Indonesia Asri.

There are 30 challenges in the 365 Actions on the site that Warga Asri can join.

The challenge on the first day is “Sort and Delete 100 Unnecessary Emails.” Why is this challenge important?

Accumulated emails stored in the cloud require significant electricity, which can negatively impact the environment.

A small step Warga Asri can take is to regularly sort and delete emails for the benefit of the environment.

The challenge on the second day is “Types of Waste.” Understanding types of waste is essential for implementing circular economy practices.

For sustainable waste management, waste needs to be sorted and processed into something valuable.

Author :Virdita Rizki Ratriani