Which term describes an economy based on the make, use, dispose model?

• A. Circular Economy
• B. Closed-Loop Economy
• C. Sustainable Economy
• D. Linear Economy

Answer: (D)

A linear economy is characterized by a make, use, dispose pattern where resources are drawn from the environment, turned into products, used, and then discarded with little material recovery. This straight-through flow leads to increasing waste and resource depletion because nothing is systematically returned to use.

This is in contrast to a circular economy, which designs products and systems so materials and components are kept in use, through reuse, remanufacturing, recycling, and refurbishing, effectively closing the loop. A closed-loop economy is a way of describing a highly circular system where outputs feed back as inputs, reinforcing that loop. A sustainable economy focuses on meeting present needs without compromising future generations and considers environmental, social, and economic factors, but it doesn’t specify the same resource-flow pattern as make–use–dispose.

So the term that best describes the make, use, dispose pattern is the linear economy.