Circular Economy for Adult Education

The pressures and negative impacts on the planet’s envi­ron­ment and resources are ever growing in parallel to incre­a­sing manu­fac­tu­ring and con­sump­ti­on. The concept of the circular economy is one of many responses to that urgent need to shift the global economy towards sus­tainable growth. However, the tran­si­ti­on to the principle of a circular economy requires a fun­da­men­tal rethink and thus new approa­ches and new skills. School education, voca­tio­nal training and adult learning play a decisive role in this.

The term circular economy describes a model of pro­duc­tion and con­sump­ti­on where existing materials and products should be shared, rented, reused, refur­bis­hed, repaired and/or recycled for as long as possible. This extends the life cycle of products and reduces waste to a minimum. Once a product has reached the end of its life, the materials and resources should remain in the economic cir­cula­ti­on for as long as possible, be used pro­duc­tively again and again, and generate new added value.

Six partner orga­ni­sa­ti­ons from the EU, including 3s, offer infor­ma­ti­on and teaching materials on the circular economy for adult educators in German, English, Italian, French, Spanish and Polish via the EU platform CYCLE CC.