Designing out hazardous chemicals

The circulation of hazardous substances presents a significant risk to the development of sustainable
industries, human health, and global ecosystems. As Australia and other nations move further towards
greater product stewardship and a circular economy, new concerns are emerging related to the circulation of hazardous substances into second-life products through recycling, and the accumulation of legacy chemicals in natural environments and human bodies.

Data is emerging showing industrial chemicals entering food chains, waterways and human bodies through various pathways. Some substances, such as highly toxic and environmentally persistent PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) have been found leaching from products including non-stick cookware, textiles, furniture and food packaging across the supply chain, putting the health of workers and consumers at risk.

In addition to the health risks posed, substances of concern are estimated to cost businesses and resource recovery industries billions of dollars each year in lost revenue and significantly undermine public and business trust in the circular economy. Research has shown that hazardous chemicals are holding back a circular economy for food and garden organics, fashion and textiles, electronic waste, food packaging and other industries.

To create a sustainable, socially just, profitable and safe circular economy, the tensions between circularity and pollution will require innovative, tailored and nuanced strategies.

ISF is interested in meeting this challenge through research that involves:

• Characterising the risks of the circulation of hazardous substances for specific industries
  and supply chains: how do the challenges differ between industries? In what cases is it still
  necessary to use hazardous substances and how can they be prevented from circulating?
• Identifying opportunities to remove non-essential hazardous substances from supply chains
  through design: how can the concept of ‘essential use’ be applied to different types of products?
  What is the best approach when safe substitution is not possible? How can product and service
  design enable safer products?
• Seeking enablers for improvements in safe design for circulation: How are design decisions
  made? What are the knowledge transfer and communication challenges? Are there regulatory
  measures that could help support safe design?
• Examining how circulation should be governed and how conflicts between material
  circularity and health should be handled: how can tensions and conflicts between the values of circularity, Net Zero, safe design and profitability be negotiated when they emerge? What types of
  governance strategies and decision-making approaches might be effective?
• Providing frameworks and tools to help decision-makers in government and industry create
  clean material cycles: What approaches can be adapted or developed to help decision-makers
  navigate complex data, tensions, and stakeholder interests?
• Investigating mechanisms for tracking, tracing and accountability: what methods could be used
  to improve material traceability, communication along the supply chain and material accountability
  for different industries?