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Many people mistakenly think that if something is eco-friendly, it is recycled. Also that what is eco-friendly is sustainable. And even that what is eco-friendly is part of the cycle. Well, NO. What are the differences between eco-friendly products?
How is a recycled product different from other environmentally friendly products?
In the first part of this article series, we already learned about the huge difference between products with recycled labels. Which is more environmentally friendly? The product whose packaging is a recycled PET bottle, while the contents of the bottle were created through environmental pollution? Or the product whose packaging is not only recycled, but also the contents themselves? You can read about this here: How does a recycled product differ from other environmentally friendly products?
Is what is recycled circular?
The English word recycle better expresses and encompasses what recycling means: a circular process. How is this possible?
What does natural cycle mean?
We were taught about the cycle of nature when we were in elementary school. For example, during the water cycle, the water surface covering 70% of our planet's surface heats up under the influence of the sun's energy and begins to evaporate. The water enters the atmosphere and forms clouds, then returns to our oceans as precipitation. A smaller part falls on land, where it returns to the seas through rivers. In other words, 98% of rainwater is in this constant cycle. Only 2% of it is the amount of water that can infiltrate the soil and nourish plants. Plants and animals use and then release the water, which also returns to the cycle.
What does CYCLE mean?
CYCLE reuses water, just like nature. Only CYCLE recycles and reuses the water used by people over and over again. How? The water used by people in Budapest is collected by a wastewater treatment plant, where it is cleaned so that it does not pollute the environment. During the cleaning process, a mixture of organic substances is formed: biomass. This is further broken down by bacteria into organic acids and purified water. This makes up 90% of the content of CYCLE cleaning products. A few more natural ingredients are added to this, and the recycled cleaning product is ready. Then, after cleaning, these are put down the drain when you pour out the used water, the mop water, and flush the toilet cleaner. So the cleaning product is returned to the CYCLE team as used water, and it all starts over.
But many people wonder how much wastewater can be purified? This will be the subject of the next article on the blog: Drinking water from wastewater, which even Bill Gates has drunk.
CYCLE does not take away from the environment, but rather gives
The plants used as raw materials for plant-based cleaning products take away farmland from food production or create land for it through deforestation. They deplete the mineral content of farmland, significantly drain finite freshwater resources through irrigation, and pollute the air through the mechanical processing and transportation of plants.
Meanwhile, Cycle products are also made from natural ingredients, but they do not deplete the soil, do not require a single drop of fresh water, and the ingredients do not even leave Budapest. In fact! Not only do they not burden the environment, but on the contrary: they nourish it. After all, during production, CYCLE, in addition to producing a renewable energy source (biogas), also produces an excellent, organic plant nutrient solution (humic acid), with which agricultural lands can be fed, not exploited.
So what does a circular product mean?
A circular product recycles its raw materials, meaning it recirculates them back into its system: in the process of raw material → finished product → waste → raw material.
Do you know any other circular brands?
It is important that the circular approach does not end with the choice of packaging materials, but that the product itself is circular. What circular brands do you know? Name them in the comments!
