Circularity is Our Future
San Antonio is at a crossroads -- like much of the world. Post-pandemic, we've experienced struggles of living in a city and community that doesn't meet folks' practical needs or encourage them to thrive.
We have two options - to either live as we are or to co-create a new way. The new way Circular San Antonio proposes is a circular economy - a reimagined way of approaching sustainability and economic resiliency.
What is a circular economy?
Dr. Walter H. Stahel, often referred to as the father of the circular economy, describes the circular economy as so:
A 'circular economy' would turn goods that are at the end of their service life into resources for others, closing loops in industrial ecosystems and minimizing waste (see 'Closing loops'). It would change economic logic because it replaces production with sufficiency: reuse what you can, recycle what cannot be reused, repair what is broken, remanufacture what cannot be repaired…
In other words, the circular economy is one that supports the living environment (e.g. humans, plants, and animals) by making trash virtually nonexistent, whether we are buying something new or receiving something used.
The traditional linear model of creating new things expects these items to become trash one day. Let’s take a look at this everyday scenario that illustrates a possible journey for these items in more detail.
In this scenario, a construction contractor, an architect, and realtor build and sell residential homes to homeowners. Once a homeowner purchases their new house, they furnish, decorate, and do what they need to make it feel like their home. After enjoying their home for some time, the homeowner might want to sell that home and move into a new house. The process of moving has a lot of moving parts such as figuring out what to get rid of, what new furniture to buy, what needs to be renovated in the new home etc. After our wide-eyed homeowners have enjoyed their homes, life calls for them to move again. This starts a new rendition of throwing items away, purchasing new items, and renovating. As this cycle continues, more trash that were once an intentional part of lovely homes ends up in landfills and more houses become abandoned and dilapidated as homeowners move on to new homes.
Let’s take a look at what the same scenario would look like in a circular economy.
A team of architects and contractors build a series of residential homes designed with deconstruction in mind - meaning that they know that at the end of these homes’ lives, every part of the building can be carefully taken apart so that each part can be reused in new projects or recycled. Eventually, excited homeowners move in and make these homes their own by decorating and renovating. Everything that is purchased for their homes is reuse-based, whether the items themselves are secondhand or made of recycled and reused materials. For a while, these homeowners will enjoy their homes, but will eventually decide that they need a change in their living space and move. Unlike the former linear culture of items going to landfill at the end of life, the circular economy doesn’t involve a landfill. In the circular economy system, homeowners are able to ensure that their items either continue to be a part of their life in the new home or are given another one. They will keep certain items, bring other items to a materials processing center where the items will either be recycled or deconstructed, gift others to friends or family, or do something to ensure that they go to someone who will cherish them.
The homes get to support new lives as well. The homeowners will of course move into their new homes. As for the previous home, that structure can either be the new home of new homeowners or become an office space for a business or other organization. However, if occupants don’t use this building, professional contractors are able to deconstruct the building because it was already designed with deconstruction in mind. Instead of demolishing the building, contractors instead will carefully deconstruct the building to preserve the different materials that were originally constructed together and will either take the deconstructed materials to the materials processing center or keep the ones that they need.
If anyone reads the above and thinks, I’ve definitely done that before, or Well, my cousins told me they didn’t want their couch anymore so I took it, you actively participate or have participated in a circular economy.
Although the term circular economy might be new, this system of exchanging and processing goods has always been relevant.
Many of us have probably received pre-loved goods in the form of hand-me-down clothes, informal marketplaces (e.g. flea markets, Facebook), passed down toys, or furniture that we grabbed and cleaned from our parents. Some of us view these items with a little resentment and maybe think, I’m tired of getting old things all the time. I just want something new. Others might view receiving these items with a bit of relief and maybe think, Phew…that’s one less thing I need to spend money on. And others might view these items with a bit of nostalgia, thinking, I’m so glad I get to have a part of my childhood in my home.
No matter how we feel about receiving pre-loved goods, one fact is true. All of us got these items through perhaps the most priceless and powerful connection in our lives: relationships. We almost always receive these items from folks who are an important part of our lives at any moment or time, whether we know these folks as a part of our inner circle or meet them briefly through a Facebook marketplace exchange. Our strong relationships with each other are an essential piece of a thriving circular economy. Unfortunately, we are missing another key component of a circular economy: A strong relationship with stuff.
Living in a westernized world where products are more accessible than the backstory behind them gives us a shallow relationship with stuff. In this world, we see what a product can do for our lives before how we can support the life of the product. It is one where we are more concerned about the effectiveness of the products than the people who made them. It’s one where we care about the efficient and speedy processes which help a product get to our doorsteps more than the resources needed for that journey. This type of world is primed to support today’s linear product-to-trash lifecycle and our shallow relationships with stuff.
And, this relationship actively contributes to a world suffering from a climate crisis, economic inequality, and environmental injustice.
Transforming the state of our world is why Circular San Antonio wants to transform San Antonio’s economy into a circular one. We want to make our community economically and environmentally resilient so that we can withstand any global crises that come our way.
Fortunately, San Antonio is primed to transition into a circular economy.
Our city has a diversity of industries, including but not limited to manufacturing, technology, and military. These industries have a lot of room to make their current waste processing systems more circular, make second-hand equipment more accessible, and to design product systems with the cradle-to-grave lifecycle in mind.
We are excited to say that circularity-focused projects are happening now. Here are a couple of initiatives and projects that we are excited to share about:
The HEB Reverse Logistics Center - This center is a fantastic example of what a community-loved business can do to contribute to the circular economy - reusing and valuing resources at all stages. The HEB Reverse Logistics Center distributes store products as resources for the community and processes materials that can be reused internally. This can look like unloading cardboard boxes and returning them to product packing facilities, donating food close to a “best by” date to the Food Bank to ensure that it doesn’t go to waste and much more. We love to see an organization practicing circular principles that benefit the environment and community.
Materials Innovation Center (MIC) - Headed by The City of San Antonio Office of Historic Preservation (OHP) and Port San Antonio, The Materials Innovation Center’s goal is to be the last stop before landfill. This project is dedicated to preserving heritage crafts such as handiwork and building preservation and creating innovative ways to use discarded and second-hand materials. The MIC is in the beginning stages right now, and we are excited to see how the center will impact the San Antonio community.
The Bus Stop Shade Cover Pilot Project - In Fall 2024, The City of San Antonio Office of Sustainability awarded Circular SA $18,000 to build a bus stop made from majority salvaged materials in collaboration with VIA San Antonio. We are excited to receive an opportunity to contribute to our city in a circular fashion and to give a sustainable solution to Texas’ heat island problem. We are holding meetings with students and professionals about design, choosing a site, materials selection, and more.
As much as we value San Antonio’s economic circular potential and the projects happening now , there’s another part of our city that we value more: the people.
We San Antonians are the backbone. We know how to make things happen. We are passionate about supporting families, building relationships with their local and global neighbors, and making San Antonio a welcoming city for everyone. We have the perfect blend of friendliness, passion for service, and desire for advocacy that make the city primed to transition into a circular economy.
We, Circular San Antonio, invite the collective backbone of our city – everyone who wants to make San Antonio a better city of all – to join us in our mission to make San Antonio a more economically and environmentally resilient city.
Do our mission and vision sound exciting to you? Would you like to get involved with any of our projects? Or maybe do you have new ideas to bring to the table? We’d love to get to know you. Please reach out to us here.