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<\/h4>\nFifteen designers have developed concepts to tackle vape fires, improve battery recovery and reduce product waste through a pilot programme funded by the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM).<\/h4>\n
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<\/h4>\nThe Design Skills for Embedding Circularity programme paired designers with waste and resource specialists, before challenging them to apply their learning to problems set by Biffa and Decathlon.<\/p>\n
A six-week design sprint, which ended in mid-July, produced proposals ranging from products designed for easier recycling to a digital platform connecting designers with waste management professionals.<\/p>\n
Biffa\u2019s briefs focused on fire risks from discarded vapes and the recovery of valuable components, particularly lithium batteries, from small electronic devices. Decathlon\u2019s challenges covered festival tent waste, tennis ball waste and packaging for buy-back and resale schemes.<\/p>\n
Among the participants, Jess Wright of Imperial Brands worked with Biffa on consumer research exploring how to encourage correct vape disposal and prevent fires. Designability\u2019s Pippa Bridges investigated how product redesign could make batteries easier to detect and remove during waste recovery.<\/p>\n
\nA circular economy depends on bridging the gap between front-end product design and end-of-life resource recovery<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Abby Brazier developed a toothbrush design intended to prevent it being lost through holes in industrial sorting equipment. Jonathan Irawan proposed Mobius, a digital platform that would use real-world data to help designers and waste professionals exchange information and better understand material flows.<\/p>\n
Pearson & Lloyd\u2019s Luke Pearson and Rory Mullins explored local, decentralised waste systems, including the use of responsive 3D-printed products to meet community and environmental needs.<\/p>\n
\u201cA circular economy depends on bridging the gap between front-end product design and end-of-life resource recovery,\u201d said Richard Hudson, CIWM\u2019s technical manager and project lead for the programme.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy putting professional designers directly onto facility floors alongside our sector’s waste and resource experts, this pilot has demonstrated the power of cross-sector collaboration.\u201d<\/p>\n
The wider pilot involved CIWM, URGE Collective, the Design Council, WRAP and CEI. Since January, participants had visited recycling plants, a paper mill, an energy-from-waste facility, landfill sites and reuse and remanufacturing operations, guided by circular economy specialist Sophie Thomas.<\/p>\n
An accompanying online programme, curated by designer and impact strategist Alexie Sommer, covered topics including material innovation, recycling technology, circular business models and consumer behaviour.<\/p>\n
URGE Collective is seeking funding partners for future editions of the programme.<\/p>\n
Findings will be shared at an invitation-only symposium at the Design Museum in London on 12 November 2026.<\/p>\n
The post Designers tackle vape fires and battery recovery in circular economy pilot<\/a> appeared first on Circular Online<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 Fifteen designers have developed concepts to tackle vape fires, improve battery recovery and reduce product waste through a pilot programme funded by the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM). The Design Skills for Embedding Circularity programme paired designers with waste and resource specialists, before challenging them to apply their…<\/p>\n