Omaha's Circular Economy + How You Can Join
Okay, we’re about to get a little weird and philosophical. But we promise the pay-off will include a mild-to-extreme epiphany with some feel-good action items at the end. You ready to go there with us? …
Here it is: Western society has taught you to view the world as a linear experience. It’s cute and all, but linear thinking created climate change. Crazy, right? We’ll explain shortly.
But the good news is that there’s another way to view the world, called circular thinking. Turns out indigenous societies have been doing this for (checks notes …) thousands of years. Through the process of modern civilization, your babushka forgot to teach you these things. But now there’s a big movement to reconnect with these old ways to fix our modern problems.
More good news: One such byproduct of circular thinking is the circular economy & circular food movement (which we’ll explain). And guess what!?
It’s alive and growing in Omaha! So after we take you through the wringer, we’re going to give you some local examples to celebrate and tell you how you can join this circular movement today. 🥳🥳🥳
But first, what is linear thinking?
It’s a concept that says there’s a beginning and an end. Things go in a straight line. —>
Think about our Gregorian calendar. It teaches us that time is always moving in a forward direction. Our education system moves linearly, assuming students learn at the same rate. We even see it in the Bible, which has a creation story at the start and an apocalypse at the end. 💀
But concepts of time and personal religious beliefs aside, this type of ideology has infiltrated just about every aspect of our lives. And it’s created some not-so-fun stuff.
Linear thinking created our landfilling process.
Is there a beginning and end to our trash? Our traditional linear economy says “you betcha!” We even have a name for this type of consumerism. It’s called the “take-make-waste” model. 👎
In this model, raw materials are extracted from the earth and turned into products that consumers will toss into the landfill. It prioritizes profit over sustainability and teaches us that trash = waste instead of a resource to be reused.
This mindset created our current landfilling model, and it’s killing our planet’s vibe. Here’s some examples in action …
Eighty billion pounds of food are wasted each year in America (which is 242 pounds of food waste per person).
Food is the largest component of municipal landfill waste, accounting for 22% on average.
The production of wasted food in the U.S. generates annual emissions equivalent to 37 million cars.
But,
there’s another way to view the world.
In contrast, according to this article from the United Nations, indigenous societies view time cyclically, understanding that everything is connected and in a constant state of change. The natural world is seen as a web of relationships, with everything dependent on each other. The cycles of nature, from the changing of the seasons to the life and death of animals, are seen as part of a larger cycle of life. 🤯🤯🤯
Transitioning from the linear to circular economy is underway.
“Eliminate the very concept of waste, not reduce, minimize or avoid waste, but eliminate the very concept, by design.”
This involves rethinking our entire economy. It’s not just about recycling (although you know we love a good recycling program). The future is all about reducing, reusing, and repairing. Full stop. That’s how we solve this thing.
Yes, in the transition, jobs will be lost. But grab an application! Signs point to promising results. Here are a few …
Internal Labor Organization found that by transitioning to a circular economy, the world could see a net increase of 6 million jobs by 2030.
The 2021 Circularity Gap Report says that if we can implement a circular economy, we could reduce our global greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030.
New jobs will rise in the recycling, repair, rent, and remanufacturing industries. Including the product-as-a-service space (PaaS).
According to a study by Accenture, America could generate $4.5 trillion of economic output for job creation and innovation.
And with the rise of “conscious consumerism,” Gen Y and Z is twice as likely as 40+ year olds to spend more for products that align with their values.
Thankfully, there’s plenty of big brands that see the move from a linear to a circular economy as inevitable. From Ikea, Adidas, and Burger King (wait, Burger King?!), here are some examples of this happening on the world stage.
So all that is great. But let’s talk about Omaha. What’s going on locally?
Local Ways to Get Involved 🎉
Here’s some examples of the circular food movement right here in Omaha.
Block 16: Ask any foodie in Omaha and Block 16 is high on their list. Little do most know, they also own their own farm. The harvest is served at the restaurant (part of why the food tastes so great). They also compost food waste from the restaurant with us and use our finished compost to grow more food. This is what we call the circular food system. 💃💃💃
Heirloom Catering: Omaha’s only organic food caterer. Heirloom goes one step further by putting its garden right in the middle of the city where its catering business is located. Food waste is composted with us and they also use some of the finished product (that they helped to create) to grow the next crop.
Eco-friendly property developers: Many restaurants and offices at Aksarben Village & Millwork Commons compost with us. As an ode to circularity, the property developers of these two spaces (Noddle Co and Black Dog Management respectively) use our finished compost and soil blends in on-site green spaces. Including an urban garden by Toast.
Amateur Coffee: As Omaha’s only vegan coffee shop, Amateur has the smallest carbon footprint & waste output of them all. They compost coffee grounds with us. But even cooler, they ditched single-use cups for a glass-jar/reusable program in 2019, and then went on to ditch single-use cutlery — even for to-go orders!
Compost Club Gives: we’re partnered with over a dozen organizations that are growing organic food and feeding our community with it. Including folks that usually don’t have access to clean organic local foods. These orgs compost their food waste with us and host a compost drop-off site for our Compost Club members. By joining, we’ll give you “soil credits” you can donate to them every March during the Compost Club Gives campaign. Plus you’ll get access to drop-off sites around the city and 20% off Soil Dynamics compost, soil, and mulch.
Check out all the eco-friendly places to eat in Omaha with our handy cheat sheet.
At Hillside Solutions, we can help you transform your trash into a resource.
By offering zero waste disposal opportunities, providing education to help implement, and using CNG-fueled trucks to cut down on emissions, Hillside is paving the way for what it means to be a sustainably-minded waste hauling company in Omaha, Nebraska.
Visit our 12-Steps to Zero Waste Guide. This is specifically made for businesses, schools, and non-profit organizations who are using our commercial pick-up services. But many of the steps are applicable at home, too.
When you’re ready to partner, hit us up.