The satisfaction of the citizens’ needs requires resources to be converted into goods and services: food, clothing, houses, roads, hospitals, schools, etc. Productive resources, therefore, are all those used to produce such as raw materials, labour, machinery, energy, buildings, financial capital, etc.

But productive resources are limited, as opposed to the unlimited nature of the needs and desires to be satisfied, so not all needs can be met with the available resources. This is the fundamental economic problem.

If current consumption patterns continue, natural resources will continue to degrade and deplete, threatening the feasibility of future generations.

The economic response to this challenge lies in the circular economy, which consists of a production and consumption model that involves reusing, repairing and recycling materials and products as long as possible, extending their life cycle, and reducing waste to a minimum. When a product ends its life, its materials are kept for being productively used again and again, trying to reach zero waste production.