In the circular economy, the aim is to return the raw materials used as far as possible to other production processes beyond the life cycle of a product or a good.
The “circular economy” is based on the biosphere, in which natural cycles run again and again. The degradation products serve here again as soil, fertilizer or starting materials for new products. One speaks of the “cradle-to-cradle” principle.
An important role in the “circular economy” is therefore the repeated reuse (cascade use) of products and goods in order to be able to recycle waste products as secondary raw materials.
Secondary raw materials are understood to mean substances which, after appropriate treatment, can again be used as starting materials for the production of new goods and do not have to be disposed of as waste or disposed of.