The European Commission is preparing to present and consider its new circular economy package which aims to bring to an end the culture of throwing products away and lead society back to a culture of reuse and repair.
The current system of production tends to accept that the product being made will end up as waste at some point in its life. The circular economy aims to remove disposal from the lifespan of a product and instead ensure that products are designed in such a way that if they break or are no longer needed they can be reused, repaired or components recycled.
The EU wants to make sure that everyday items such as mobile phones, electronic products and packaging are designed and manufactured in such a way as to allow them to be reused or repaired.
The circular economy package aims to:
Ultimately, the EU wants to ensure that manufacturers have a big enough incentive to ensure its product doesn't break or can be easily repaired as the manufacturer themselves will be responsible for it.
Even though the UK has officially left the EU, it is in a period of transition which requires the UK to comply with any new rules introduced by the EU before the implementation period ends. Even if the package is introduced after the implementation period, it would be difficult for the UK to ignore such a package as any products manufactured in the UK and placed on the market in the EU would have to conform to the rules, and any imported items covered by the package would comply with the rules anyway.
In any case, the Environment Bill 2020 currently being considered by Parliament contains proposed resource efficiency measures to, amongst other things, force producers to think about materials used and the life-cycle of a product, similar to the circular economy package being presented by the EU.
