The Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM) and the Circular Economy Institute have announced a pilot programme to enable practical skills exchange between the design and waste management sectors. The Design Skills for Circularity Programme, beginning in January 2026, will connect designers with waste facilities whilst enabling waste professionals to visit design studios and manufacturing sites.  The programme is funded by CIWM and delivered in partnership with the Design Council and WRAP. Participants will undertake visits to materials recycling facilities, energy-from-waste plants, landfills and specialist hazardous waste facilities, combining curated tours with workshops and collaborative design discussions.  Waste and recycling professionals will have reciprocal access to design firms and factories to observe product development processes, material selection decisions and design thinking. The initiative aims to address the communication gap between sectors that has limited progress in designing products for recovery and reuse.

Design and end-of-life disconnect

The programme responds to longstanding challenges in aligning product design with end-of-life material recovery. According to a 2016 analysis, decisions made during the design stage determine approximately 80 per cent of a product's environmental impact (https://resource.co/article/product-design-circular-economy-11338). However, designers and those working in post-consumer waste management have historically operated with limited understanding of each other's constraints and opportunities.

CIWM and its partners are seeking a dedicated cohort of designers and industry professionals to participate in the pilot and establish how increased collaboration can inform more sustainable design and manufacturing practices.

Sarah Poulter, CEO at CIWM and the Circular Economy Institute, said: "It is vital that we in the resources and waste management sector supports the design community in developing durable products that are less wasteful to manufacture and enable the resources they contain to be fully recovered at the end of their life. If you work in the design sector and want to contribute to the development of a more circular economy, I encourage you to consider participating in this exciting pilot."

Circularity workshops

In addition to site visits, the programme will include hosted workshops and webinars exploring topics related to circularity in design. Planned themes include re-use, repair, recyclability, materials science, packaging technology, carbon footprint reduction, future trends in material recovery, and product pricing strategies that account for end-of-life considerations.

The initiative comes as England prepares its first circular economy strategy for consultation later in 2025. Research published by Green Alliance in June 2025 found that UK businesses adopting circular economy principles are establishing new revenue streams whilst creating employment opportunities (https://resource.co/article/uk-businesses-can-create-470000-jobs-circula...). The report identified skills development as one of three critical areas requiring government intervention to accelerate the circular economy transition.