We need to change our relationship with water to ensure that communities and businesses can thrive today and tomorrow, and the circular economy must be part of the solution. Water can no longer be considered an inexpensive, “use and dispose” commodity but should be valued as a reusable asset and growth enabler. Yet today, less than three percent of wastewater is recycled. In the United States, industry reuses far less than ten percent of the fresh water used for industrial processes. The identification of waste in terms of resources, capacity, lifecycle and embedded value that is the building block of the circular economy, must also be fully applied to water cycles.
