Future Designs launches return to reuse, a scheme that redefines reuse in the lighting industry in line with its carbon careful™ initiative

Future Designs is launching return to reuse. The revolutionary new scheme has a fully traceable recycling service for end-of-life Future Designs luminaires. Following a meticulous, step-by-step process Future Designs will either reuse under the carbon careful™ initiative or recycle every component, where possible, of the retired lighting fixtures, offering clients complete transparency and accountability through the disposal process. The scheme will commence from 1st September 2025 and any Future Designs VANE luminaires that have been installed in a project within the past 12 years will be eligible.

Refurbishment projects often result in mass waste, with perfectly reusable lighting frequently discarded into landfill, or worse, improperly processed in ways that do not meet sustainable recycling standards. With luminaires comprising of multiple components and materials, the challenge has always been how to responsibly manage the reuse or disposal of every element.

Luminaire system VANE is the first range to qualify for the innovative return to reuse initiative. Selected due to its flexibility and popularity, with 730 kilometres of VANE installed across numerous projects throughout the UK alone. VANE is easy to demount, reconfigure and recycle. It is manufactured with reusable aluminum and mild steel, all of which can be reused or adjusted for future projects within the carbon careful(tm) initiative, giving VANE a circular lifespan.

Customers will simply remove the VANE lighting systems from their premises and arrange their return to the designated Future Designs afterlife storage facility. Each VANE system will be manually stripped and components batched according to type, the returned products will be stored and, where feasible, refurbished and resupplied for use under the carbon careful™ initiative, supporting a circular approach to lighting supply. Unusable products will then be passed onto an approved recycling organisation who produce a detailed audited report for the client showing how the raw materials have been recycled.

“Our mission is simple,” says Oliver Clements, Managing Director of Future Designs, “Lighting waste is prevalent in our industry so, as a business, we want to do everything we can to provide our clients with not just a service, but a sustainable solution they can trust for many years going forwards.”

return to reuse will ensure every recycled VANE component is tracked and documented, ensuring full compliance with environmental standards. This is a bold step in Future Designs sustainability journey, highlighting a true commitment to the circular economy. Every new product will have a QR code, so Future Designs is in a position to track every product in the future.