The UK has the second highest level of e-waste per person in the world, and the UK’s material footprint is over twice the sustainable limit identified by the UN.
However, if the UK could reverse its consumption habits and create a circular economy, it would benefit not only the environment, but also bring a £25 million boost to the UK economy by 2035, according to a cross-party group of MPs, backed by organisations including think tank the Green Alliance, professional body IEMA and Zero Waste Scotland.
A circular economy focuses on reducing consumption of finite raw materials by keeping materials in use through reuse or recycling, rather than the current linear model of ‘take, make, dispose’, where resources are extracted, manufactured into products, and then discarded as waste.
The MPs, from the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for the Environment, made the point in a six-step plan advocating better use of resources. It wants the plan to feed into the government’s circular economy strategy, which is expected to be published in the autumn.
They argue that consumers should have a “right to repair” to ensure products can be fixed when they break. This would especially help those on low-incomes, who have been hit the hardest by the cost-of-living crisis.
The plan notes that a much more ambitious, economy-wide approach to repair, remanufacturing, reuse and recycling has the potential to create hundreds of thousands of jobs over the next decade.
To realise this potential, the UK needs to boost skills in repair, remanufacturing and recycling, it said. For example, boosting the number of apprenticeships in semi-skilled professions, which do not require a degree or advanced training, will make it easier for people to get jobs in circular practices.
Politicians from all parties have endorsed the asks, from Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay, Conservative Dame Caroline Dinenage MP, Labour’s Uma Kumaran MP and Liberal Democrat Wera Hobhouse.
Dame Caroline Dinenage, Conservative MP for Gosport, said: “The circular economy has the potential to boost regional growth and leave Britain cleaner and greener for our children. Increasing the size of the repair and reuse economy, and promoting these skills at a local level, must be central to reforms.”
EU repair
In April 2024, the EU adopted a ‘right to repair’, which aims to reduce waste and boost the repair sector by making it easier and more cost-effective to repair goods.
Manufacturers are obliged to inform consumers about their rights to repair, and provide timely and cost-effective repair services. Goods repaired under the warranty will have their legal guarantee extended for a year.
Once this has expired, the manufacturer is still required to repair common household products, which are technically repairable under EU law, such as washing machines, vacuum cleaners, and smartphones.