n this conclusion video, the instructors will discuss the design requirements for circularity. You will hear about the main design strategies, their relation to the resource challenge and the changes that need to happen on the way towards the Circular Economy.

Key points:

• Products suitable for reuse must be designed for durability and robustness. The concept could be applied to buildings, furniture and household appliances. Challenging products are electronics.
• Products suitable for repair must be designed to be easy to open and with easily exchangeable parts and modules. Examples are mobile phones, household items, electronics. A downside is an outdated software.
• Products suitable for remanufacturing must have a modular design. Examples are high volume products such as washing machines and cars.
• Products suitable for recycling should contain fewer types of materials and have a modular design. Products made of metals such as bikes and cars are easily recyclable.
• It is important to find the balance between the design of different re-options.
• There must be changes in the business models (emphasis on the services rather than the product itself), the general public attitude, the infrastructure, technology (advanced recycling technologies) and policies.

Many examples and re-options strategies can be found in the Engineering Guidelines textbook. To reach the checklist, please go to the course outline. Then click on the link on top of the page called “Engineering Guidelines” to see the document.