Author: Michael Staunton - November 2026
Why circularity is becoming a commercial decision for Irish SMEs
The Irish Times Sustainable Ireland Special Report, published on 29th October, carried a piece with a simple message: circularity "has to make economic sense" if it is going to become part of how a business actually works.
The article looked at two companies taking different routes. AJ Products turns wood offcuts from its factories into heating pellets or reuses them in its furniture, and recycles metal cuttings into new lockers and cabinets. BladeBridge takes decommissioned wind-turbine blades and turns them into shelters, street furniture and even bridges, with examples already in place in Achill Sound and Rathfarnham.
BladeBridge chief executive Angie Nagle summed it up well: customers "shouldn't have to choose between the sustainable option and the commercially sensible option. They should be the same option."
Now admittedly, many Irish SMEs aren't making furniture or reusing turbine blades. But I would agree on the above statement and fundamentally, the same principle applies to any business that buys, uses, packs or ships materials.
From waste cost to resource value
For most businesses, waste is simply a cost. Materials are bought, used, packed, transported and eventually thrown away.
A circular approach asks a different question: how much value could you keep from those materials before they become waste? That might mean using less material in the first place, choosing materials that can be reused or recycled, or finding a use for offcuts and by-products that are currently being paid for to be taken away.
None of this has to start with major investment or a redesign. Often, the first step is just knowing where your materials go and where avoidable waste is happening.
Where the commercial case shows up
Cost. Less unnecessary material and packaging means lower purchasing, handling and disposal costs.
Customers. More businesses are being asked about the materials and packaging behind their products, particularly by larger customers with their own sustainability targets. In the Irish Times article, AJ Products said that being able to offer durable, recyclable products is part of what makes it attractive to customers who have these requirements.
Resilience. Using materials more efficiently reduces exposure to supply problems and rising input costs.
Regulation. EU rules on packaging and products are placing more weight on minimisation, recyclability and reuse.
These points tend to reinforce each other. A change that cuts material use often saves money, gives customers something concrete to point to and puts you in a better position on compliance.
Packaging is where I’d start
If you make, import, distribute or sell packaged products, then I believe packaging is the most practical first place to look. A few questions worth asking:
Is the packaging proportionate to the product and the protection it needs?
Are there layers, components or materials that don't need to be there?
Could the specification be simplified, or made easier to recycle or reuse?
Can your suppliers tell you exactly what materials you're buying?
The EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) has applied since 12 August 2026. Some requirements are already in effect, including limits on PFAS in food-contact packaging. Others, such as recyclability, minimisation and reuse requirements, phase in from 2030.
Compliance shouldn't be treated as just a paperwork exercise, though. The information you need to show compliance (what your packaging is made of, how it's put together and who supplies it) is the same information you need to make better decisions about it.
Start with what you already know
Circularity can sound complicated, especially for a smaller business without a sustainability team. In the same Irish Times report, AJ Products' Tanya Cawley pointed to data as the biggest gap: knowing what materials you use and where they come from.
So start there. Get a clear picture of your materials, your packaging, the information your suppliers provide and your current waste streams. From there, you can pick out the changes that make the most commercial sense and tackle those first.
The aim isn't sustainability for its own sake. It's running a leaner, more resilient business.
At TrailZero, we work with Irish SMEs to understand how their business uses materials and packaging, find where the real opportunities are, and turn them into practical next steps.
The question is no longer just how to manage the waste you produce, but how much value you could keep by using resources better in the first place.
Source: Emmet Ryan, "Aligning the commercial and sustainable cases for circularity", The Irish Times, Sustainable Ireland Special Report, 29 October 2026.
