Central government has teamed up with the business community to work on a circular economy for the future. A circular economy has hardly any waste and reuses raw materials again and again. That is why it is important to explore the possibilities and limitations for reusing substances and materials. Safe-by-Design plays an important role in this exploration.
Safe is circular
Substances, materials and products that are Safe-by-Design can be used safely in a circular economy. After all, they do not harm human health or the environment. A circular design is therefore preferably also a safe design: Safe-by-Design. This explains why Safe-by-Design has been given a place in the Circular Economy Implementation Programme.
By leveraging the Safe-by-Design concept, new materials and products must be designed in a way that allows their reuse without risks for human health and the environment.
Substances of concern
One of the challenges is the reuse of materials already in circulation. If they contain substances of concern, we must ensure that they do not cause problems for human health or the environment when used in new applications. This is achievable by taking certain measures, for example limiting exposure to the substances, or removing the substances. The objective is to keep substances of very high concern out of the circular economy and ultimately to eliminate them entirely.
More information
Read more about the circular economy at: