Tearfund Learn - Circular Economy

In the developing world there is a huge and growing waste problem. Currently, 9 million people die every year due to the mismanagement of waste and pollutants. That's 20 times more people than die of malaria. If we ignore this waste problem, we will miss a key opportunity to save lives and create jobs for people living in poverty.

The circular economy is a new way of thinking about the world. Our current way of doing things is linear: we take natural resources, make items, use them and then throw them away. At this end point all the energy, water and materials used in making the items are thrown away too. The circular economy, however, keeps resources in use for as long as possible. We are working to help communities around the world to embrace the circular economy - creating jobs and saving lives.