A defining characteristic of the remarkable industrial development experienced over the last 100 years has been a ‘make-use-dispose’ approach to resource utilization in industrial processes. While this ‘linear economy’ approach has resulted in enormous advances for societies, it also has created an unsustainable demand for and use of resources and materials. With global population expected to swell to an estimated 9 billion by 2050, the intelligent use of limited resources in production and consumption has become a subject of socio-political, environmental, and economic discussion.