TL;DR
When a storage-like structure (chests, furnaces, turrets) is destroyed, the contents should be spilled on the ground rather than get miraculously destroyed without any consequences.What and why?
This adds a hilariously annoying mechanic into the game that ensures that the player must be mindful of all waste rather than simply opting out for a wooden chest and a couple bullets or something.Items on the ground also prevent players from building on this tile will further drives home the point as you must clear this space first from rubble. Or have bots clear it up before replacing this destroyed turret.
This also makes biters significantly more dangerous because spilled items may land on the belt which will almost inevitably clog the system which may stop the defenses which lead to more waste.
Of course, there should be an option to combat this issue when one gets bots eventually that will mark all those items for collecting automatically.
Now, there is a small issue with this: the current spill pattern is ugly to say the least and should be randomized into a bunch of "stains" originating from a common point (or a similar pattern) to simulate actual destruction.
Other than that, it adds a small, but extremely pernicious concern into the game that one should better account for before it's too late.
Also this makes losing certain buildings less painful for some cases - the items are not destroyed after all, BUT, as mentioned before, there is a potential for a chain reaction that will stop the whole factory from working correctly.
A small note: nothing stops the players from driving somewhere remote and dropping the waste there. However, it's not automatic and requires human interaction and we all know time is the most precious resource in this game.
Wishlist: No idea what to do about fluid containers