Towards a Circular Economy (WasteExpo Together Online 2021)

Behind so many modern efforts on waste management, processing and recycling lies a more foundational drive to move to a world where our presence does not need to necessitate damage.  What if we took two steps back and looked at what it might take to get to this end goal?  This talk explores foundational ideas and posits 4 shifts we must engage with to transform our materials economy based on a first-principles approach to entropy and industrial metabolics.  A new lense on materials will be essential to realizing a world where humanity is a net positive to nature.