As global environmental issues become increasingly serious, in the field of resource recycling, concepts that were previously discussed in terms of the “3Rs” (reduce, reuse, recycle) with a focus on waste have recently been replaced by the term “circular economy,” and there is now a demand for more effective systems that cover the entire life cycle from manufacturing and use to disposal and recycling.

As new products and materials continue to emerge and our lifestyles evolve daily, promoting the circulation of “secondary resources” derived from used products necessitates the establishment of collection systems, the development of recycling technologies, standards and systems for utilizing secondary resources in new manufacturing processes, and social systems that support such resource circulation. Additionally, “eco-design”—incorporating these resource circulation principles from the design phase—is essential.
However, scientific knowledge in this field and cases of institutional designs based on such knowledge are not yet abundant.

This course explores the scientific knowledge necessary for building a true resource-circulating society.