Transforming the Built Environment with Circular Design Technology
The potential for technology to change the way we live and work seems limitless. However, we cannot rely on AI and other tools to solve the issue of circular design for us. The responsibility is with us: the designers, manufacturers and producers.
There is no technology as powerful and creative as the human mind – and once we shift our mindsets to reimagine design within a circular economy, we can utilize machines and software to bring more sustainable practices to life. When we bring innovative, creative minds and advanced technology together, we have the opportunity to change the way the design world works.
Those of us in the design industry must collaborate on innovative solutions and closed-loop technology at every stage of the value chain in order to minimize the environmental impact of design. Here are some of the ways we can transform the design economy through circular technology.
Stage 1: Designing with the End in Mind
Eco-design is the process of minimizing environmental impact by designing a circular system around a product. This is how you design with the end in mind. When you create a product, consider what is going to happen at the end of its life – tossed into a landfill, or recycled into new ingredients for new designs?
Through eco-design, we create products that are easily separated and recycled after use. This means easily removing the nylon carpet tufts from its backing, or separating the metal zipper from a nylon jacket so the nylon can be recycled and regenerated.
Not only do we need to creatively design products to be easily separated, we also need the technology that can produce these eco-designed pieces. Starting with the flooring industry, Aquafil has launched the R2R project in partnership with our customers to co-design the flooring of the future.
Stage 2: Creating Circular Ingredients
The world has become reliant on plastic products, which are made by extracting oil and gas, and are often designed to only be used once. Every year, millions of tons of plastic ends up in landfills or in our oceans. We have the opportunity to reduce our reliance on resource extraction and eliminate waste by creating circular plastic ingredients.
Aquafil has developed ECONYL® regenerated polymers that can be used in place of hard plastics made from oil. The versatility of ECONYLⓇ regenerated polymers makes the ingredient ideal for injection molding, extrusion and production of products like chairs or frames for sunglasses.
The beauty of these polymers is that they can be infinitely regenerated for endless possibilities of design. We can use our creative mindsets and find ways to replace resource-intense ingredients with recycled ingredients, then take advantage of technologies that will help us bring our circular products to life.
Stage 3: Developing Circular Manufacturing Practices
Once we have a product made of recyclable ingredients that can easily be separated for continued recycling and regeneration, we need a circular manufacturing model to reduce waste during production. One of the latest technologies we can explore is circular additive manufacturing, or 3D printing.
3D printing currently only makes up about 1% of the global manufacturing market, but it is set to grow exponentially over the next several years. There is a great opportunity for designers to utilize 3D printing to create more sustainable products since it is an additive process, meaning it builds a product by adding materials as needed rather than removing what isn’t needed.
In addition to reducing the amount of waste during production, 3D printing can also reduce waste by enabling designers to create more effective prototypes through the digital system, make and replace parts as needed and manufacture in multiple locations instead of shipping from one central plant. 3D printing can be even more sustainable when designers elect to print with recycled plastics, like ECONYL® regenerated polymers and filaments.
The Future of Circular Design
The potential of circular design is only as limited as our imagination. Technology is a tool to bring our ideas to life, but it won’t do the work for us. In the end, it is our responsibility to design better. Once we all make this mindset shift, we are confident that the technology to bring our unlimited imagination to life will come.
Authors: Luca Bertamini, BCF Technical Customer Service and Product Development Manager & Nicole Soligo, BCF R&D Masterbatch Specialist
