Circular economy in Italian firms: present and future perspectives

The concept of Linear Economy, in which resources are used till they lose their utility, falling under the “take-make-dispose” mentality, has ruled our society for quite some time. This model depends on mining the earth, making stuff that wears out, and then throwing it away as a landfill. This kind of economic model, which is often referred to as a “cowboy economy” because it relies on both infinite resources and the ability of nature to take in limitless waste without blinking, pushes expansion not based on quality but rather quantity (Siniawer, 2018; Morseletto, 2023). However, doing so enacts se-vere ecological and social effects, which further deplete its resources, affect-ing the environment in such a manner that potentially leads to the extinction of species, ushering us in an inevitable doom (Goyal et al., 2018; Ghisellini & Ulgiati, 2020).