End-of-Life & Circular Economy
Closing the loop: from waste to resource
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Section 5 of 5Circular Economy: Designing Out Waste
The linear economy (take-make-dispose) is fundamentally broken at planetary scale. Circular economy closes material loops: Products become resources at end-of-life, not waste. Global material extraction has tripled since 1970 to 100 billion tons/year—unsustainable. Only 8.6% of materials are currently cycled back. Value retention hierarchy matters: Reusing a laptop (80-95% emission savings) beats recycling its metals (30-40% savings). Remanufacturing preserves more value than recycling—a remanufactured engine retains 70% of original value; recycled steel retains 20%. Design for circularity is critical: Fairphone uses modular design (10+ parts user-replaceable), extending life 5+ years. Tesla batteries designed for second-life energy storage after automotive use. IKEA furniture designed for disassembly and material separation. Contrast with glued/welded assemblies that force downcycling. Business models shift incentives: Product-as-service (Philips sells lighting as a service, not bulbs) aligns profit with longevity. Take-back programs (Patagonia, H&M) internalize end-of-life costs. Deposit systems increase collection rates 80-95%. Material-specific strategies vary: Aluminum and steel are infinitely recyclable with high recovery rates (70-90%). Plastics degrade with each cycle—mechanical recycling limited to 2-4 cycles; chemical recycling breaks polymers to monomers enabling infinite cycles. Electronics contain 60+ elements requiring specialized recovery (rare earths, precious metals). Policy drives circular transition: EU's Right to Repair mandates spare parts availability for 10 years. Extended Producer Responsibility makes manufacturers responsible for end-of-life. Landfill bans (Switzerland, Netherlands) force material recovery.
Interactive Circular Economy Decision Tree
Explore different end-of-life pathways and their environmental impacts
Product has reached end of initial life. What condition is it in?
Circular Economy Hierarchy (Best to Worst)
💡 Key Insight
Circular economy is not just recycling—it's a redesign of the entire system. The highest value retention comes from keeping products in use (reuse, repair, remanufacture), not breaking them down to materials. Recycling should be the fallback, not the goal. Companies like Patagonia and Caterpillar prove that circular business models can be more profitable than linear ones—remanufactured engines have 25% higher margins than new engines while using 80% less energy.
Module Complete!
You've mastered the industrial product lifecycle