My View: UK Repair and Reuse Declaration

I am inspired by the many great repair and reuse initiatives up and down the country, where people are empowered to repair their own products and learn skills for the future. However, I know that far too often, products are made with components that will fail and either cannot be repaired or can be fixed only by the original manufacturer. I want to see us build things that are made to last.

For too long, our economy has been stuck in a linear mindset, where the full costs of environmental impacts are not factored in. I agree we need to end our ‘throwaway’ society and clean up Britain. I therefore wholeheartedly share our Government’s ambition to work towards a zero-waste economy where resources are kept in use for longer through reuse, repair and recycling.

I am very pleased to see our Government has banned wasteful single-use vapes starting in June 2025 and will introduce a Deposit Return Scheme for plastic and metal drinks containers from October 2027. It also plans to extend producer responsibility obligations to online marketplaces like Amazon.

Environment Ministers have also announced they are prioritising the development of a circular economy strategy for England. A taskforce of experts is considering how we can promote efficient and productive use of resources, minimise negative environmental impacts and support and encourage greater reuse and repair. It will look at construction, textiles, plastics, transport, agri-food and the chemicals industry. During development of the strategy, I know our Government are considering the evidence for sector-specific interventions right across the economy, including in electronic waste. I am looking forward to the strategy being published later this year. 

I understand any policy development on waste electricals including the right-to-repair and ecodesign will be guided by this work to transition to a circular economy. I believe these actions being taken by our Government will help to create new jobs and investment, while protecting the environment and moving us towards our net zero ambitions.