Circular economy in the natural and anthropocentric approach

Abstract

The aim of this article is to present and analyze differences in the interpretation of the closed circulation of matter in the natural environment and in the economy. Circulation of matter in the biosphere shaped in a very long period of development of life on Earth creates the impression of a very stable and durable mechanism. It is a mechanism that, thanks to the constant inflow of solar energy, sustained and evolutionally multiplied forms of life on Earth. Observing nature and assessing the damage done as a result of its economic exploitation prompts scientists and entrepreneurs to seek solutions that rely on the imitation of this circulation phenomenon that seems to ensure the existence of safe and sustainable nature. Repeatable use of the same matter in the biosphere has become an incentive for political and economic actions aimed at re-using the matter contained in goods produced
by man. The analysis of natural cycles and those programmed by man leads in this article to the conclusion that we can not expect miracles from the concept of circular economy. Obvious limitations are built into laws governing nature and functioning of the economy itself. Moreover, we should carefully and rather suspiciously analyze the interdependencies of recently designed closed cycles with all these rules and hopes which are combined with the idea of sustainable development.