The concept of cirkular economy and the posibility of application in RH

Europska unija, čija je članica i Republika Hrvatska, sve se više i više suočava s prijetnjom klimatskih promjena i ekoloških šteta rizičnih za opstanak svijeta kakvog danas poznajemo. Zbog toga se posljednjih nekoliko godina pojačano bavi ekološkim pitanjima te je u tom kontekstu donijela veći broj novih inicijativa, mjera i politika. Kao jedan od uzroka spornih prijetnji prepoznat je neodrživ način djelovanja, gdje se ubraja i djelovanje po modelu linearne ekonomije. Taj je model ekonomije kontrast cirkularnom modelu kao rješenju problema do kojih je, između ostalog, linearan model i doveo. Linearan se model koristi dugi niz godina i usmjeren je uglavnom na ostvarenje ekonomskih koristi, ne mareći pritom za okoliš. Smatra se da se primjenom cirkularnog modela može održati, pa i povećati gospodarski rast i razvoj uz istovremenu brigu o okolišu i zdravlju društva. Takav se novi model temelji na ponovnoj uporabi i popravku onoga što je već iskorišteno ili odbačeno, na recikliranju i na dizajnu koji sa sobom nosi dugotrajnost i sklonost navedenim procesima. Cilj je primjene takvog modela svođenje otpada na najmanju moguću razinu te racionalno korištenje sirovina, odnosno održivost življenja sadašnjih i budućih generacija. Kao članica Europske unije, Republika Hrvatska zajedno s ostalim članicama ima obvezu ostvarenja ciljeva za cirkularnost donesenih na razini EU-a tako da zadnjih nekoliko godina aktivno radi na tome području. Ipak, s obzirom na određene prepreke s kojima se na tom putu suočava, kao što su unaprjeđenje sustava gospodarenja otpadom, učinkovitost resursa i eko-inovacije, takav proces za nju nije nimalo lagan i predstavlja područje na kojem postoji puno mjesta za napredak kako bi sustigla ostale članice. Zahvaljujući podršci EU-a koji joj stoji na raspolaganju, ponajviše u financijskom pogledu, te bi prepreke trebale biti rješive. Primjer su dobre prakse poduzeća koja su pokazala da je tranzicija moguća i da ima itekako povoljne rezultate.The European Union, which counts the Republic of Croatia as a member state, has increasingly been facing the threats of climate change and ecological damage posing significant risk to the existence of our world as we know it today. Because of those threats, ecological concerns have been more openly addressed and made way for a number of new initiatives and policies during the last couple of years. Unsustainable courses of action have been recognized as one of the main causes of the beforementioned threats, which also take the linear economy model into account. This economic model is a stark contrast to the circular model in terms of solving the issues which were led to by the linear model. The linear model has been in use for a number of years and its focus is on the achievement of economic benefits while having a rigorous effect on the environment. It is believed that, the application of the circular model, can sustain, and perhaps even increase economic growth and development while at the same tame providing environmental care. That new model is based on repurposing and repairing that which had once been worn out and thrown away, recycling and a long-lasting design that cares about the process. The main goal of applying such a model is a thorough reduction of waste, rational use of raw materials and sustainability of life for both present and future generations. As a member of the European Union, the Republic of Croatia, together with the other member states, has an obligation to achieve circularity goals on the EU level. This is why, during the last few years, it has been actively involved in that area. However, taking into account certain obstacles that were present along the way, such as the improvement of waste removal techniques, resource efficiency and eco-innovation, the process is not remotely easy and it remains to be an area that can be vastly improved in order to reach the level of other member states. Thanks to the financial help offered by the EU, those problems should be solvable. They are a show of good practice of enterprises which have shown that it is possible to make a transition and see positive results