Circular economy examples in practice include fashion rental services, electronics refurbishment programmes, industrial symbiosis where one company’s waste becomes another’s resource, and product-as-a-service models. These initiatives keep materials in use longer, reduce waste, and create economic value while minimising environmental impact.
What exactly is the circular economy and why does it matter?
The circular economy is an economic system designed to eliminate waste by keeping materials and products in use for as long as possible. Unlike the traditional linear model of ‘take-make-waste,’ circular approaches focus on designing out waste, regenerating natural systems, and maintaining the value of resources through reuse, repair, refurbishment, and recycling.
In a linear economy, you buy a phone, use it for a couple of years, and then it ends up in a drawer or landfill. In a circular economy, that phone gets designed for easy repair, components get harvested for new devices, and materials return to the production cycle.
Why are businesses making this shift? Resource scarcity is becoming increasingly real, with raw materials getting more expensive and harder to source. Climate pressures are mounting, with regulations like the CSRD requiring companies to report on sustainability impacts. Beyond compliance, circular practices often make solid business sense—reducing costs, opening new revenue streams, and building resilience against supply chain disruptions.
What are the most common circular economy business models?
Several business model frameworks enable circular economy practices:
- Product-as-a-service models shift from selling products to providing access—instead of buying a washing machine, you pay for clean clothes, with the manufacturer retaining ownership and responsibility for maintenance and eventual recycling.
- Sharing platforms maximise product utilisation by enabling multiple users to access the same item—car-sharing services demonstrate this brilliantly, with vehicles serving multiple people rather than sitting idle.
- Product life extension strategies focus on repair, refurbishment, and remanufacturing—rather than discarding items when they break, companies restore them to working condition.
- Resource recovery models treat waste as a valuable input—companies design processes to capture and reuse materials from end-of-life products.
- Circular supply chains rethink procurement by prioritising renewable, recyclable, or biodegradable materials from the start.
These models represent a fundamental rethinking of how businesses create and capture value. Whether through maintaining ownership of products, extending their useful life, or recovering materials at end-of-life, each approach challenges the traditional assumption that products must be sold once and discarded after use. The most effective circular economy initiatives often combine several of these approaches, creating integrated systems that maximise resource efficiency whilst generating new revenue streams. Understanding these foundational models provides the framework for recognising circular economy principles in practice.
What are real-world examples of circular economy in action?
Seeing circular economy principles in practice helps illustrate how these models translate into tangible business operations:
- Fashion rental services offer subscription services where customers access a rotating wardrobe without owning individual items—garments get worn by multiple people over their lifetime, dramatically increasing utilisation rates whilst reducing environmental footprint per wear.
- Electronics refurbishment programmes involve major technology companies and independent specialists collecting used devices, repairing or upgrading them, and selling them with warranties—this extends product lifecycles and reduces electronic waste.
- Industrial symbiosis initiatives create networks where waste from one company becomes raw material for another—a power plant’s excess heat might warm nearby greenhouses, whilst a brewery’s spent grain feeds livestock at a neighbouring farm.
- Packaging redesign for reuse shifts from single-use packaging to durable containers that customers return for cleaning and refilling—coffee shops offer deposit schemes for reusable cups, and logistics companies use standardised, returnable packaging.
- Food waste valorisation programmes transform what would be waste into valuable products—breweries convert spent grain into animal feed, coffee grounds become compost or biofuel, and restaurants partner with organisations to redirect surplus food.
These examples demonstrate that circular economy principles work across industries and scales, from global technology corporations to local food businesses. What unites them is a shift in perspective—viewing materials not as disposable inputs but as valuable resources to be maintained within productive use. Whether through extending product lifespans, enabling shared access, recovering materials, or redesigning systems to eliminate waste entirely, these initiatives prove that circularity delivers both environmental and economic benefits. The key is identifying where resources currently leak from your system and finding creative ways to capture that value, transforming potential waste into competitive advantage.
Ready to implement circular economy practices?
Moving from understanding circular economy concepts to actually implementing them requires specialist knowledge. You might need expertise in sustainable product design, supply chain optimisation, or regulatory compliance with frameworks like the EU Taxonomy.
At Dazzle, we connect you with pre-screened sustainability experts who specialise in circular economy implementation. Whether you need help redesigning products for circularity, mapping resource flows, or developing new business models, we can match you with the right professional for your specific challenge.
The flexibility of working with sustainability freelancers means you can bring in expertise exactly when you need it—for a specific project or as interim support. We can connect you with the right expert within 48 hours, so you can start making progress on your circular economy goals this week rather than next quarter.
If you are interested in learning more, reach out to our team of experts today.
