Nature Knows No Waste?

This work compares industrial and natural recycling systems and illuminates them with Niklas Luhmann's systems theory in order to provide a new perspective on the problem of waste in industry and consumption.

Nature knows no waste. This sentence appears again and again in various forums, literature or even in business reports. The implication is that all organisms and resources in the environment act together in constant interactions and cycles. This principle of constant change, recyclability, and organicity has become the epitome of sustainable design.
First, natural processes and examples of waste in nature are analysed. This is followed by the same analysis of the industrial cradle-to-cradle model. Finally, I categorise the cycle models using Luhmann's systems theory in order to develop approaches for design practice.
Consequently, the goal is a bionic revision of an already existing industrial cycle model using ecological cycles from nature. Furthermore, the question is raised whether design as a discipline has to expand to a systemic thought and how necessary this rethinking is with regard to the future.

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