Electronics manufacturers to discuss re-use and repair

LONDON, UK: Christmas is the most wasteful time of the year. Christmas sees millions of us unwrap new electronic products to replace old, still functional products that will tragically end up in landfill. It's something the government wants to change - evident in last week's waste prevention plan (WPP).

One focus of the WPP is WEEE - waste electrical and electronic items. Government has recognised that in the context of retaining the value of resources, recycling is a last option. The easiest, quickest, most efficient way to deal with waste will be in re-use. It's for this reason that government announced, in the WPP, an £800,000 scheme to support local re-use networks.

Resource, Europe's first large scale event for companies looking to embrace the circular economy, will host a major discussion about how waste can be prevented through new ownership models, product durability and design for end of life of products.

Mark Dempsey of HP and Kevin Considine of Samsung will be joined by Margaret Bates of Northampton University and Ugo Vallauri of the Restart Project at the Resource conference on 4-6 March, ExCeL London. Key points of debate will be whether manufacturers can better design products for repair or reuse, if products should be leased not owned, and whether we need to rethink product lifecycles.

Ugo Vallauri states, "Companies who are serious about a circular economy should reconsider the longevity of their products, and how their customers can maintain and repair products - the inner-most circle of repair and maintenance should not go ignored."

Whilst we continue to recycle even more of the waste we produce the increased volume and visibility of this material at Christmas highlights that much more needs to be done to reduce the amount of valuable resource we throw in to landfill sites over the festive season.

Reuse is a part of the waste hierarchy, but it's fair to say it has not received the focus it deserves, according to Stephen Gee, Event Director for Resource 2014:

"All too often we talk about waste, and how it could be better handled. The trouble is that by then, it's often 'too late' to economically repair or recycle. Resource 2014 looks further up the chain, to how products are designed, made, and owned. It's only by embracing closed loop thinking and the circular economy that we will find answers to conserving materials that are becoming increasingly scarce. This might lead to changes in retail models, supply chain relationships and models of profit. It's a major shift for retailers and manufacturers."