Stop Destroying Waste: How Collaboration in Take-back Systems Creates Value Instead of Waste

The purpose of a take-back system is to reduce usage of new natural resources by reusing discarded products. However, value stream actors often damage the discarded products by treating it as waste, and potential reuse value is lost in the value stream bringing discarded products to a reuse facility. The value loss can be reduced through reconfiguring collaboration and alignment of purpose between value stream actors. The study explores multiple product take-back value streams and identify alignment in collaboration as an enabler of low product damage and high value creation which are central to operationalization of circular economy.