Imagine standing on the floor of a recycling facility, watching tonnes of discarded products flow past you, and you can't escape the feeling that different choices could have kept them in use.

Now imagine spending a year learning how to design for that future, supported by the right experts, the right data, and a community of peers to help you turn waste into opportunity.

The Design Skills for Circularity programme, developed by the Chartered Institute of Waste Management (CIWM), Design Council and WRAP, will offer designers exactly that opportunity.

The programme launched at the World Design Congress last week and will run throughout 2026 with a small, dedicated cohort of participants.

The team behind the programme includes URGE co-founder Sophie Thomas, and members of the URGE community can register their interest now to be first to hear when applications open.

What you'll experience

Over the course of a year, participants will:

  • Gain behind-the-scenes access to 12 waste and resource facilities across the UK – from recycling facilities to energy-from-waste plants, hazardous waste sites and landfill.
  • Visit design companies and production facilities to understand the whole life cycle of products.
  • Attend curated tours, workshops, and expert-led discussions on reuse, repair, recyclability, carbon impacts, materials science, packaging innovation, pricing, and future trends.
  • Learn how waste is processed and where design can enable material recovery, reuse and reduction.
  • Bring learning back to your workplace by running a CPD session to introduce circular economy thinking and gather ideas for action.
  • Develop a one-page proposal that could shape future practice, policy, and funding for circular design.

Why this is important

This pilot directly responds to the CIWM President’s 2024 Report Turning Off the Tap, which calls for a shift from managing waste to actively shaping better product lifecycles. The report recommends designing products and services to maximise their lives – enabling return, repair and reuse first, with recycling used as the final option to keep materials in circulation and out of landfill.

Image by CIWM

This programme also builds directly on the Design Council’s Skills for Planet framework, which URGE has covered in previous newsletters. By joining, you’ll gain the insight and confidence to embed these skills in your daily practice and share them with your wider team:

  • Implementing circular strategies (Skill 4)
  • Adopting a circular business model (Skill 5)
  • Selecting materials responsibly (Skill 6)
  • Analysing emissions data (Skill 8)
  • Facilitating green choices (Skill 13)
  • Iterating based on evidence (Skill 18)

Register your interest

By taking part, you will build practical knowledge, expand your network, and help shape the case for government action on circularity and green skills education. Travel and lunches are covered, and places are strictly limited to ensure deep collaboration and meaningful outcomes. You can register your interest now.

Register interest

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