Re-Use

What?

Re-use of products and materials in their original state or after transformation.

Why?

Re-use can prolong a product lifespan and increase the circularity of resources as they will be used again instead of becoming waste.

Challenges

• It requires collections systems that are easy to engage with for users in everyday life.
• It can be difficult for producers to process re-used materials.

Examples

• Deposit systems allow to re-use products in their original form, with actors such as the well-established Dansk Retursystem, or Loop Store.
• Harvest maps are tools for ‘mining’ locally available resources.
• Studio Basurama develops an array of projects and interventions playing with the perception of what is considered to be waste, and how to valorize it.
• Initiatives such as H&M’s fabric collection are debatable since they also fuel the consumption of new garments (with vouchers).

Further Reading

Bauer et al. (2017). Design for High Added-Value End-of-Life Strategies. In: Sustainable Manufacturing. Springer Open.

Crocker & Chiveralls (eds.; 2018). Subverting Consumerism: Reuse in an Accelerated World, Introduction. Routledge.

Jongert et al. (2011). Recyclicity: A Toolbox for Resource-Based Design. Architectural Design, 81(6), 54-61.

Lofthouse et al. (2017). Reinventing Refills: Guidelines for Design. Packaging Technology and Science, 30(6), 809-818.