# Close - How does it work?
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##### How does it work?

The ‘Close’ approach is perhaps one of the more obvious ways to develop circular solutions, as it is focused on closing the loop. This approach aims to take waste out of the equation by turning one product’s waste into another product’s feedstock, replacing the need for new materials to be extracted from the environment. By using materials again after the product they’re embedded in is discarded, we can recover the value that was invested to make that product in the first place. This is commonly referred to as **recycling ***(Note 1)*.**
Using the Close approach tends to make a lot of sense when your product or service uses a single type of material. It is easier to close the loop on projects that use a limited number of different materials. Think about the construction of a dining table, for example, which might be made from timber and some metal braces and screws. Closing the loop would require you to manage just these two materials. This contrasts with a laptop which might use more than 50 different types of materials, making it a rather arduous task to close the loop for all of them. Putting the Close approach into action can look like this, when implemented on three different levels:

On the product-level** , the Close approach focuses on recovering the value embedded in the product and using the constituent parts, components or materials again. When your business or organisation has control over the design or production process of a product, consider these strategies:

- **Design with recycled inputs:****Specify the use of materials that have been recycled from other products and components. The higher the level of recycled content you design with, the bigger the volume of materials on which you are closing the loop.

- Design with materials suitable for recycling:****Recycling goes two ways: a product can be designed using recycled materials, but a product can also be designed to go on to be recycled. For a true circular solution, both should be true.

- Design for mono-materiality:****Recycling methods and technologies differ for each type of material. Designing products to make use of a minimal, or even single, type of material will make recycling much easier.

On a business model-level**, you can use the Close approach when your business or organisation plays a service-focused role or procures products from other businesses in your value chain. Consider strategies like:

- **Reuse and sell components and materials from discarded products:****When a product cannot be reused in its entirety, consider the possibility of reusing and selling its components or materials instead, creating new value from waste.

- Recycle products in appropriate facilities:****Make sure that the products you put on the market can and will be recycled in the appropriate facilities. As Victoria’s recycling system expands, the capacity to manage specific materials might be constrained. Take that into consideration when developing new products. You’ll find detailed information on the state of Victoria’s recycling and resource recovery sector on href="https://www.vic.gov.au/recycling-victoria-data-hub" target="_blank" rel="noopener" (https://www.vic.gov.au/recycling-victoria-data-hub) .

- Enable and incentivise product returns:****The capability to recycle products is useless if the recyclable products don’t find their way to the facility. Make sure there are reverse logistics** in place to get products back after they are thrown out.

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##### Definition

href="https://www.ascm.org/topics/reverse-logistics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" (https://www.ascm.org/topics/reverse-logistics/)**: All processes needed to return products from the end user back through the supply chain to either the retailer or manufacturer.

The Close approach can also be used on an **ecosystem-level**, which might be relevant when your organisation plays a coordinating or influencing role in your value chain. This usually includes government or not-for-profit organisations, who could consider these strategies:

- **Build local waste-to-product loops:****The logistics needed to make recycling a viable endeavour can grow very quickly based on what materials you’re working with. Try and find local resource loops by turning the waste of a given facility into new products that can be sold back to the same facility, simplifying the reverse logistics.

- Engage in industrial symbiosis:**
Similar to building local waste-to-product loops, businesses that are located closely to each other can collaborate to simplify reverse logistics. By sharing or exchanging by-products, materials, energy, or waste among nearby facilities, the result can be a simplified and mutually beneficial closed loop called industrial symbiosis.
