Quality of resources: A typology for supporting transitions towards resource efficiency using the single-use plastic bottle as an example

The growing British waste management sector has consistently voiced the need to improve the quality of waste-streams and thus the value of secondary resources produced, in order to achieve higher reprocessing rates. Mismanagement of wastes that may lead to contamination and degradation of the recyclate feedstock constitutes one of the main barriers in the pathway to a circular economy. The sector has also repeatedly called upon manufacturers to collaborate in designing materials, components and products (MCPs) with properties that aid recovery, refurbishing, repair and recycling (e.g. separabilty of materials, clear labelling), as waste managers recognise the value of early engagement well before MCPs enter the supply chain (i.e. before MCPs are produced and distributed to the end user). Nonetheless, progress has been slow with regard to improved design for promoting components and products longevity and segregation at source when they reach their end of use or life stage in order to promote circularity. China's ban on imports of low quality recyclates at the end of 2017 marked the beginning of a new era in waste management, drawing attention to UK's dependence on export of low-value secondary resources and thus placing ‘quality’ in the spotlight. This article delves into the notion of quality, the way it is understood and assessed at different parts of the MCPs lifecycle, and makes recommendations on how it might be systematically measured. A typology to distinguish avoidable and unavoidable designed and created characteristics at all stages of MCPs lifecycle is proposed to provide industry with a tool to design wastes out of the economy. The typology's application is demonstrated using the single-use plastic bottles as an example.