ABSTRACT
OK, to begin with a circular economy for energy materials means that technology should be engineered from the state to require few materials, resources, and energy while lasing longer and having components that can easily be broken down for use in subsequent applications. For the purposes of this book, “circular economy” is defined as an economy that keeps materials, products, and services in circulation for as long as possible (USAID, 2023). The Save Our Seas 2.0 Act, for example (addresses the increasing quantities of plastic waste in the seas), refers to an economy that uses a systems-focused approach and involves industrial processes and economic actions that are restorative or regenerative by design, enables resources used in such processes and activities to maintain their highest value for as long as possible, and points toward the elimination of waste through the superior design of materials, products, and systems.
