Closing the loop: insights into the role of partnerships in facilitating reuse in the UK

Product longevity and extending product lifetimes through repair and reuse are recognised as having an important place in waste reduction strategies (Cooper, 2005; Curran & Williams, 2010). These activities, discourage the “churn” of purchasing new items (Cox et al., 2013) and also have a part to play in addressing global concerns regarding resource efficiency, contributing to slowing material flows, conserving resources, reducing energy use and decreasing environmental pollution (WRAP, 2009; ERM, 2011). As such, they have been prioritised in European Union (EU) legislation, being placed above recycling and other waste management treatments in the waste hierarchy introduced in the Waste Framework Directive (75/442/EC), and more recently in the Circular Economy Action Plan (European Commission, 2015). In order to identify key areas for improvement in maintaining products in their most useful state for an optimum time, it is pertinent to understand product flows in a post-consumer context. This paper explores a partnership between a major retailer and the reuse sector that seeks to support reuse of products discarded by consumers who have recently purchased replacement goods. It traces the movement of discarded products, outlining the roles of the different stakeholders and sets out the product pathways to reuse enabled by this partnership. It makes recommendations for policy makers to encourage the growth of such partnerships to facilitate reuse which have economic and social benefits in addition to environmental benefits that align with circular economy concepts.