Circular Economy: Sustainable Solution or Wishful Thinking?

Waste recycling can sometimes hide the greenwashing that is accused of companies that give themselves an ecological image without real impact. Indeed, its effectiveness and credibility are debated due to deficiencies in the processes of collection, processing (sometimes exported) and reuse of materials. This may be due to a disengagement of the private sector: recycling encounters obstacles such as its cost, lack of appropriate technologies and contamination of materials. This may also be due to a lack of public sector agency. Although regulations have been put in place to frame this model, their application remains deficient. Standards are often poorly followed, and companies are not always encouraged to adopt truly sustainable practices, making recycling less efficient than desired. Does the solution lie in a more sober circularity, which would not involve a transformation process as expensive financially and energetically? Other circular models can limit our waste such as storage, upcycling, second-hand sale... Are they more credible and do they make it possible to impose the circular economy as a truly sustainable solution?