Which process is crucial for making materials reusable after a product's lifecycle?

Disassembly is a critical process for making materials reusable after a product's lifecycle because it involves carefully taking apart a product to recover its components and materials. This allows for the separation of different materials, such as metals, plastics, and glass, which can then be recycled or repurposed for new applications. By effectively disassembling a product, the potential for reusing valuable materials increases significantly, reducing waste and conserving resources.

Disassembly also plays a vital role in the circular economy, where the goal is to keep materials in use for as long as possible, minimizing the need for new raw materials. It enables the recovery of parts that can be refurbished and reused in new products, thereby extending the life cycle of the materials involved.

While transportation, manufacturing, and extraction are important processes in their own right, they do not specifically focus on the recovery of materials at the end of a product's life. Transportation pertains to moving goods, manufacturing is about creating new products, and extraction involves obtaining raw materials from the earth, which does not relate to reusing materials already in circulation.