Circular Economy: latest developments

• the UK generates the second highest amount of E-waste per person in the world (23.9 kg/person/y), after Norway (26kg). 
• the average European household has 44 electronic or electrical items at home plus another 45 lamps or light fittings
• Natural resource extraction and processing makes up approximately 50 per cent of the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions produced worldwide [I assume this includes mining, transport, manufacture, etc]
• Though the UK collects most of its electronic waste at Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs)137 it is also the European country with the least HWRCs per inhabitant and one of lowest per 1000 km2 – mostly out of town and only accessible by car.
• extending the lifetime of all washing machines, smartphones, laptops and vacuum cleaners in the EU by one year would lead to annual savings of around four million tonnes of carbon dioxide by 2030, which is equivalent to taking over two million cars off the roads for a year
• average lifetime of a washing machine fell from an average life of 10 years to seven years between 2000 and 2010
• large household appliances being replaced within the first five years of their service life due to a defect increased from 3.5 per cent in 2004 to 8.3 per cent in 2013
• for fridges, the UK had the lowest average replacement age (5.1 years)
• In 2013, the average smartphone lifetimes in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK were around 18.3 months, rising to 21.6 months in 2016, potentially due to the decreasing rate of innovation
• 65 per cent of people feel frustrated about how long products last, and 62 per cent at the difficulty of repair. 75 per cent said that Government should ensure businesses produce repairable and recyclable products
• 40 per cent of Smartphones running the Android operating system are no longer receiving security updates.  iPhones, up to iPhone 6 released in 2015, are now considered obsolete
• Restart Project has estimated that over 1,000 community repair events logged in its online system have saved an estimated 17,864 kg of electronic waste and an estimated 280,894 kg CO₂ emissions
• Smash the display on Apple’s iPhone 11 Pro Max, for example, and you can expect to pay £326 to get it fixed by the tech giant if it’s out of warranty. If the damage sustained by the iPhone comes under ‘other damage’ (faults not related to the display), that number could rise to a whopping £596.44
• 1,714,000 tonnes of EEE (Electrical and Electronic Equipment) were purchased in the UK in 2019.  505,445 tonnes WEEE (Waste EEE) were collected, down from a peak of 589,850 tonnes in 2016
• 155,000 tonnes were thrown away in domestic bins and incinerated or landfilled in 2017
• 190,000 tonnes, equivalent to 527 million small old unused electronical items, are hoarded by UK Households (av 20 /household)
• 140 million cables are held in people’s homes across the UK, enough to go around the earth 5 times
• 2.5% – 10% estimated amount of electronics that are re-used by others

The Committee’s recommendations most relevant to Repair Cafés are:

10.   We support this proposal and urge the Government to bring this forward with the aim of removing electronics with unduly short lives from the market. The expected lifetime label must be linked to the minimum lifespan guarantee. Particular attention must be paid to where the burden of proof lies between consumers and producers.  (Paragraph 94)

11.   The Government must enshrine the right to repair in law, enforcing access to (1) repair manuals; (2) access to affordable spare parts for products; and (3) ability to repair products without repairers needing access to physical or software tools specifically designed to be a barrier to independent servicing or repair. (Paragraph 109)

12.   Technology companies, repair organisations and the UK Government should collaborate to ensure safety is ensured during the repair of electronics. This could be through creating professional standards, that will in turn drive more consumer trust. This collaboration should also look at the protection of intellectual property. (Paragraph 110)

13.   The Government should mandate that products be labelled with a repairability score, based on the products design, the availability and cost of spare parts, access and ease of use of repair manuals. This will incentivise companies to go beyond the minimum requirements already established. Companies with better repairability scores should be rewarded with a reduction in modulated fees for their extended producer responsibility scheme contributions. (Paragraph 111)

14.   The UK Government should encourage repairability through reducing VAT charged on the repair of electrical and electronic products. (Paragraph 112)