The University of Southampton’s Olanrewaju S Shittu, Ian D Williams and Peter J Shaw look at the right to repair, and ask will the public follow the waste hierarchy and choose to reuse e-products for longer?
International E-Waste Day has just passed. COP26 is drawing closer. These events serve as a reminder that Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (E-waste or WEEE) is growing faster than any other solid waste.
Global E-waste generation will probably exceed 75 million tonnes per year by 2030, with very significant carbon consequences. The rapid turnover rate of electrical and electronic equipment (E-products or EEE) fuels the generation of E-waste.
Many countries are currently unable to safely handle the E-waste stream to protect public health and the environment.
Ideally, management of E-waste should follow the principles of the Waste Hierarchy in which prevention and minimisation are preferred to recycling and recovery due to their lower environmental impacts.
Items of E-waste collected through formal systems are mostly recycled, using processes allow us to extract materials such as plastics and common metals to use to make new products.
But what should be done with E-products that are still working and usable when we no longer want or need them? Will the public follow the waste hierarchy and choose to reuse E-products for longer?
Urban mining for reuse
One approach to recycling is “urban mining” where we recover materials by collecting unused consumer products from urban areas such as cities or universities.
Recycling E-products that still work but are no longer wanted is not the best option: working items may be recovered for reuse – and reuse has economic and environmental benefits. Although recycling is a positive step towards circular economy ambitions, it should be an option only when opportunities for reuse have been exhausted.
High value E-products can be recovered from distinct spaces. We can “mine” these spaces for reusable items and when they can no longer be reused, we can recycle them to salvage valuable materials.
High value E-products can be recovered from distinct spaces. We can “mine” these spaces for reusable items and when they can no longer be reused, we can recycle them to salvage valuable materials.
Reuse is worthwhile for items that are no longer required by an individual but work well. In the UK alone there are over 17 million small E-products in storage that still work but are unused, and have a collective reuse value of >£570 million.
Exploiting this huge resource requires well-timed recovery of reusable E-products before technological advances render them out-of-date and unusable.
A recent case study showed that recovery of reusable E-products needs the right infrastructure, service and behaviour (ISB). Devices in good working condition can be collected and then donated or redistributed.
This can be achieved by joining forces with local and national charities to support charitable causes and helping to bridge societal gaps.
Barriers to E-product reuse
Reuse gives us a way to use our devices for longer – beyond their first owner. Companies such as CeX and Cash Converters have developed successful high street and online businesses using this business model. Ideally, reuse should become the public’s preference ahead of recycling.
In this way we can make the most of reuse value, particularly by cutting down levels of hoarding.
The materials in an E-product constituent materials keep their value for recycling even when it is broken. An E-product’s value for reuse is time-sensitive and dependent on condition, technological utility and reparability as well as its appeal to consumers.
Reuse gives us a way to use our devices for longer – beyond their first owner.
More recovery of reusable E-products will need us to develop reuse standards. The lifetime of E-products will be extended by designing for disassembly and/or repair so E-products can be passed on to several owners during their lifetime.
Innovations such as modular designs will be important, incorporating circular economy principles in E-product design.
Consumers’ attitudes towards pre-owned E-products may be a barrier to reuse. Some consumers don’t like buying second-hand products, whilst for others it is an economic necessity or a lifestyle choice. Reuse standardisation and certification can alter perceptions by, for instance, giving confidence in pre-owned products.
People’s behaviour, attitudes and environmental awareness also influence what they do with E-products they no longer want or need. These factors needs to be taken into account at the design phase of E-products if we are to maximise reuse potential.
A game-changer?
In the UK, the introduction of legal right-to-repair on 1 July 2021 provides an opportunity to promote reuse at scale. However, the right-to-repair excludes popular items such as laptops and smartphones . Nevertheless, this initiative coincides with increasing public pressure for reuse and reduction of carbon emissions.
We are starting to see deliberate product design for repair/reuse, favourable economic conditions for reuse centres, repair cafes and shops and easier access to spare parts.
E-product reuse is set to become not only preferable and aspirational, but achievable too.
