What is a Circular Economy?

We need to move away from a single-use society to one which refills, repairs and reuses; one in which nothing is wasted or leaked into the environment. There have been moves across the UK to move towards a circular economy with some significant progress made in 2024 and 2025.

In Scotland, we welcomed the passing of the Circular Economy (Scotland) Act and the publication of the Circular Economy and Waste Route map in December 2024 and the consultation on a Circular Economy Strategy in 2025. In England we saw the establishment of a Circular Economy Taskforce in 2024 and await the Circular Economy Growth Plan in 2026. It was brilliant to see Wales hosting the 2024 European Circular Economy Hotspot event in Cardiff and consulting on pathways to reuse in 2025.

There are many policy tools and interventions available to move us towards a circular economy. Beachwatch data has recently been used for some of these, including campaigning for Deposit Return Schemes, single-use cup charges and Extended Producer Responsibility schemes.

We need governments across the UK to invest in reuse, refill and repair schemes. There are many fantastic examples in communities, including repair cafés, toy and tool libraries, school uniform and sports equipment swap events – but we need to scale this up, so every community has the opportunity to reuse.

Earth Overshoot Day

Each year, the earth generates a limited amount of biological resources, which humans use throughout the year. Earth Overshoot Day marks the day when humanity's demand for resources exceeds what the earth can regenerate in that year. In 2025, that day was July 24th. From this date onwards, human's will be using earth's resources quicker than they can be replenished - accumulating more waste and adding to the climate crisis.

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