noun
recycling-oriented society; material-recycling society
A society that minimizes waste by reusing and recycling resources, often used in environmental policy contexts.
日本は循環型社会の構築を目指している。
Japan aims to build a recycling-oriented society.
Compound of 循環 (circulation, cycle), 型 (type, model), and 社会 (society). The term became common in Japanese environmental policy from the late 1990s.