Design for recycling: How companies benefit economically
At a time when the circular economy and sustainability are no longer regarded merely as moral standards, but are increasingly becoming binding framework conditions, design for recycling is gaining significant strategic weight. For manufacturers of electronics, ICT components and system solutions, it is no longer just about image, but about marketability, cost stability, and securing the future. If you take recyclability into account as early as the design process, you can reduce regulatory risks and tap into economic potential at the same time.
ESPR & Digital Product Passports: the new EU framework
With the adoption of the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), the EU has significantly expanded the previous Ecodesign Directive. Its aim is to make products not only energy-efficient, but also more sustainable throughout their life cycle. A central component is digital product passports (DPP), which in future will provide machine-readable information on composition, repairability and material origin.
In April 2025, the EU Commission published the 2025-2030 working plan, which names the first product groups and requirements. In addition to textiles and metals, that also applies to electronics and information and communication technologies (ICT), which are addressed via horizontal requirements such as repairability and information obligations. From February 18, 2027, the product passport will initially be required for industrial, light means of transport and traction batteries with a capacity greater than 2 kilowatt hours.
Right-to-repair: new obligations for manufacturers
At the same time, the Right-to-Repair Directive, which must be transposed into national law by July 31, 2026, sets out specific requirements for repair and the supply of spare parts. Manufacturers must allow repairs even after the legal guarantee has expired, and provide access to repair information. They must provide spare parts or tools for some product groups. The directive covers mobile phones, electronic displays, servers and storage products, among other things.
Repairability and recyclability are becoming increasingly important in product development. Industry standards prioritize design for disassembly, in other words, products that are easy to dismantle at the end of their life cycle, and material separability. If technically possible, preference should be given to reversible connections, and clear disassembly steps should be provided.
Technological guidelines for electronics
Sensible guidelines are already gaining ground in the development process for products in which recycling is taken into account. The focus is on modular assemblies, detachable connections, and consistent design for disassembly. Durable adhesive bonds are increasingly taking a back seat, while reversible plug-in or screw systems, or detachable adhesives such as debond-on-demand adhesives facilitate repairs and refurbishing. The choice of material also plays a key role, as mixed materials are more difficult to recycle.
In addition, the ESPR already anchors the principle of traceability in the design process with the digital product passport. This lays the foundation for product and material data being able to be automatically incorporated into compliance systems later on.
Why design for recycling is economically attractive
In view of rising material costs and unstable supply chains, circularity is becoming a competitive factor. Companies that design their products to be easily dismantled and sorted by materials not only secure access to valuable secondary raw materials, but also reduce their dependence on increasingly uncertain primary markets. Particularly high recovery rates for copper and precious metals can close material cycles.
At the same time, design-for-recycling principles facilitate the maintenance, inspection and refurbishment of products. As a result, not only can production be made more efficient, but new business models can also be developed – from refurbishment services and modular upgrades to profitable spare parts business. Progress is becoming increasingly quantifiable. Key figures such as dismantling time, proportion of unmixed fractions, proportion of recyclates, or repairability scores are becoming key indicators for circular product design.
From product design to corporate strategy
The topic of design for recycling has long since gone beyond product development and has an impact on other company processes. Development and procurement teams have to record product and material data along the entire life cycle and make it traceable. Supplier qualification, material transparency and spare parts management are becoming strategic levers for circular value creation.
At the same time, compliance is becoming more central to day-to-day business thanks to the new EU regulations, making sustainability an integral part of the industrial process architecture and a prerequisite for long-term competitiveness.
International perspectives
Change is global. In the US, several states, including New York, California, Minnesota, Colorado and Oregon, have passed their own right-to-repair laws for consumer electronics and increasingly also for professional electronics. The United Kingdom has tightened up its ecodesign requirements since 2021 and added spare parts and repair obligations, among other things. As a result, cycle-oriented product development is becoming increasingly established internationally.
Design for recycling as a distinguishing feature
Regulatory pressure, sustainable procurement, and a shortage of raw materials are making design for recycling a core criterion in 2025 for corporate competitiveness. Those who integrate material data, modular designs and aftermarket strategies at an early stage not only ensure compliance, but also reduce material risks, increase resilience, and tap into additional service revenue. At the same time, the conditions for market access improve, for example, in public tenders. The transition from linear to circular thinking starts with the design.