Unbalanced systems tend to provide us with different signals along the time, for which we should remain aware of perceived risks and unsustainable scenarios. We can identify multiple derivatives of this phenomenon for difference disciplinary fields, from mechanics, electrical systems, civil structures, computer networks, biology and geology sciences, etc. In the context of materials use and macro ecosystems impact, we face unprecedent extraction levels of all raw-materials classes and fossil fuels, and record levels of disposed products and residues within or fragile planet.
In Europe alone, according to 2022 Eurostat reference data, more than 2233 million tons of waste were generated (circa five tons per capita). The Linear Economy Model – extraction > transformation > use > disposal and pollution – has become so omnipresent and dominant that it seems a global dogmatic norm. Despite intergovernmental and high-level agendas to measure and encourage a more Circular-Economy-based system, the recent evolution is nothing short of discouraging. In 2015 reference data, compiled in the Circular Gap Report, only 9.1% of materials consumed in the global economy were cycled, whereas for 2024 data, that metric fell into 6.9%. A straightforward reading of this figure shows that we continue to aggravate the problem, instead of solving it – effectively living in a 93.1% linear-model economy!
This material imbalance in the sustainable consumption and use of nature-based resources can be illustrated with other tangible and easy-to-understand metrics, like the Earth Overshoot Day; for the aggregated European Union (EU), this date corresponded, in 2025, to “29 of April”. This means that from 1 January to 29 of April 2025, the EU consumed what should have been the total sustainable biogenic resources for the entire year – essentially, three times more. For Portugal, the 2025 Overshoot Day fell on 5 May, placing the country on par with the EU’s poor overall performance.
An aware (or even a less aware) citizen can easily spot the signals of this severely unbalanced system: from widespread waste pollution (in soils, sidewalks, roads, in rivers, seawater, beaches, and in air quality, among others); to the news of overstressed and costly waste-treatment facilities and undersized landfill sites; or the observable decline in biodiversity, e.g., bugs and insects in natural habitats. Over the decades, the Linear Economy Model has harnessed human ingenuity, manufacturing and technological advances, industrial globalisation and innovative marketing strategies; these have helped maintain the status quo while providing citizens with “an ever-comfortable dopamine dose” from buying new products they need – and many others they don’t.
Commercial and marketing strategies such as Boxing Day, Cyber Monday, or the well-known Black Friday are clear examples. Black Friday started as a single day per year (the Friday after the U.S. Thanksgiving Holiday) and has evolved into a week – and is now expanding into a full month of promotions and sales. In this human-created, unbalanced reality – which affects us through environmental and social impact (lower quality of life, greater fragility and diseases, etc.) and endangers a sustainable future for the upcoming generations -, we need to rethink the true value of Linear Economy as “the must-have development paradigm”. Do we really need of a “high dose of dopamine for buying new products at scale” to achieve better quality of life, health, and personal fulfilment? Or can we, as citizens-consumers and organisations, embrace more effective Circular Economy Models by adopting a conscious purchasing approach and a stewardship mindset toward products and goods? Aware and responsible choices, proper product care, and the adoption of servitisation models can (re)activate century-old, validated strategies: refusing what we don’t need, reducing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing-remanufacturing, repurposing and improving recycling and material-recovering – while fostering the preservation, restoration and regeneration of natural ecosystems.
All in all, we must motivate ourselves to understand the advantages of Circular Mondays and aspire to Circular Weeks in the pursuit of a balanced system and sustainable future.
By António Baptista, researcher of the Enterprise Systems Engineering area
and President of the Technical Committee for Social Responsibility
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