Design for disassembly is a design strategy that ensures products can be easily deconstructed at their end of life to enable recycling, upcycling or re-use of separated elements. As recycling technologies for different materials vary, recycling is only possible if component materials of a product can be separated out for different recycling processes. For example, metal or plastic fastenings such as zippers and buttons need to be removed before recycling of clothing. Also, technology for recycling blend materials is still emerging which is why mono materials are preferable in design for disassembly. Products that have been designed for disassembly can contribute to a more resourceful use of materials in the circular economy by reducing the need for virgin materials and resources, and creating new products and material streams out of already existing resources.(1,2) However, product disassembly is time- and labor-intensive and hinges on many interconnected factors such as material content and quality, access to sorting infrastructure and economic viability, among others.
DESIGN FOR DISASSEMBLY
