Local authorities should take the lead in encouraging the repair and reuse of household items to help save millions of pounds a year, a waste management company has said.
A new study by SUEZ says councils should also consider incorporating re-use and repair within an authority’s organisational or resources and waste strategy.
The study estimates repairing and reusing household items could save £63m a year. It also says the reuse and repair sector would be able to support 40,000 jobs if every person had just one item repaired every year.
The report, Re-use – seizing the opportunity, says consumers can make the biggest savings by purchasing furniture such as chairs and bedframes from re-use shops, saving nearly £250 on average per item.
SUEZ calls on the Government to set an ‘ambitious agenda through the maximising resources and minimising waste programme, with clear targets and timescales to give direction to both industry and the value chain.’
It estimates that 35,500 items disposed of every day at household waste recycling centres, ranging from furniture to lawnmowers to TVs could be reused.
The company’s Sarah Ottaway said: ‘By embedding re-use and repair at the fore of a more circular economy, we have the potential to create thousands of green jobs and make significant carbon savings which would contribute to the UK’s net zero target.
‘This is an opportunity for the UK to lead the circular economy, creating benefits that support national agendas, from levelling up to net zero and economic growth.’
