Designing for Recyclability: What Manufacturers Need to Know
When I sat down with Sofia Peruzzo, ESG Manager at SK tes, I knew we’d cover a lot of ground. Her insights in this episode offer actionable advice for manufacturers looking to prepare for the future — especially when it comes to regulation, recyclability and circularity.
Sofia has a background in environmental research, but her current role sits right at the intersection of sustainability and manufacturing. SK TES specializes in the decommissioning of end-of-life IT devices and batteries; either giving them a second life or recovering valuable materials. Her work involves everything from emissions reduction and reporting to helping clients comply with evolving sustainability regulations.
Why Design for Recyclability?
One of the most powerful insights Sofia shared was this:
“Recycling really begins at the design phase.”
This is a critical mindset shift for manufacturers. As extended producer responsibility (EPR) regulations tighten, producers are being asked to take ownership of products even after they leave the factory. That makes recyclability not just a nice-to-have, but a cost and compliance issue.
“Designing the product with recyclability in mind might have some cost benefits for the producer… because the cost of recycling is on them.”
Practical Steps for Manufacturers
Sofia outlined several concrete ways manufacturers can improve recyclability through better design:
Modularity
“Making the product in a way that is easy to disassemble… increases the chances of recovering the materials.”
Modular design also helps recyclers separate components without resorting to shredding, which can contaminate valuable materials.
Avoid adhesives
“The use of glues… can really impact recyclability. Alternatives like mechanical fasteners or snap-fit designs are better.”
Simplify materials
“The more types of material are used within components, the harder it is to recover each one.”
Where possible, use fewer types of materials and keep them physically separated.
Choose recyclable materials
“Some metals like aluminum and steel have very well-established recycling systems… toxic metals, on the other hand, often can’t be recovered due to regulation.”
Plastics present their own challenges. Additives, colorants, and flame retardants can all reduce the recyclability of otherwise recoverable materials.
The Case for Secondary Materials
Sofia shared powerful data on the environmental benefits of using recycled (or “secondary”) materials:
Gold
“Producing 1 kg of gold from virgin material generates around 41,000 kg of CO₂. From secondary material? Just 1,500 kg.”
Aluminum
“Primary production emits 15 kg of CO₂ per kg of aluminum. Secondary production? Only 0.8 kg.”
Polycarbonate plastic
“You can go from 6 kg of emissions per kg of primary plastic down to just 0.2 kg when using recycled material.”
This dramatic reduction in embodied emissions has supply chain implications too. Using secondary materials can help reduce exposure to geopolitical risk, price volatility, and monopolistic supply chains—particularly for rare earth metals used in electronics.
Regulation Is Driving Change
Throughout our conversation, it was clear that regulation is a major force behind this shift.
“There’s a lot of regulation coming up, especially in Europe, around extended producer responsibility, recycled content mandates, and digital product passports.”
Digital Product Passports (DPPs), for example, are set to become mandatory for more than 30 product categories by 2030 in the EU. These tools will allow manufacturers to track and disclose everything from material origin to emissions data, recyclability, and substances of concern.
“When you have availability of this data, you can really decide how to act.”
A Bigger Vision: Circular Business Models
Toward the end of our discussion, I asked Sofia what is the biggest change she woould champion in manufacturing. Her answer? Shifting from ownership models to sharing models.
“If the manufacturer retains ownership, they have an incentive to design for durability, reparability, and recyclability.”
She pointed to models like product-as-a-service, especially for high-cost or infrequently used products, as a way to keep materials in circulation longer and reduce environmental impact.
Final Thoughts
This conversation reminded me how interconnected design, regulation, supply chain risk, and sustainability really are. The decisions made at the product design stage ripple all the way through to end-of-life—and increasingly, back again.
If you’re a manufacturer navigating changing regulations, rising material costs, or ESG demands, take note: recyclability isn’t just about compliance. It’s a strategic lever. And it starts at the drawing board.
“There are trade-offs,” Sofia acknowledged. “But the balance is possible—and necessary.”
Want to Dive Deeper?
This article shares highlights from my conversation with Sofia Peruzzo on the Agents of Change podcast. To hear the full discussion—including more examples and practical insights—watch the full episode here or find the podcast on Apple, Spotify and Amazon.
