Only 14% of plastic packaging is recycled annually, much of the rest leaks into the environment. If we don’t revert this trend there could be more plastics than fish in the ocean by 2050.
A third of what leaks into our ecosystem is plastic packaging – and single-use packaging is one of the big culprits: think tear-offs, ketchup sachets, condoms, coffee cup lids, screw tops, straws; anything we use once and then tend to throw out.
How might we design out the need for separate lids, tops or straws? How might we turn single use in to reuse or multi-use? How might embedded data within packaging enable better reuse, return or collection?
Pick a manufactured product that you have been developing or are familiar with and consider how you can create service layers that facilitate more users for that product within its life cycle, prolong its life cycle or enable more usages for the materials beyond the initial life cycle. Think take-back models, repair services, upgradability or a sharing system.
How might service offers and embedded intelligence bring more personalised experiences to the users? How might you improve the performance of the product and/or material?