MPs, peers, businesses and charities have joined together calling for the UK Government to deliver a ‘Circular Economy Strategy that matches bold vision with immediate action’.
A new report, ‘Kickstarting the circular economy: A six step plan to make better use of resources’, published today (17 June) by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Environment (APPG), outlines how the UK can transition from a wasteful ‘linear economy’ (extract-use-throw away) to a circular one that reuses, repairs, and recycles resources.
The report’s six step plan is framed by Chair Andrew Pakes MP as a ‘checklist for the government’, and highlights the key areas where reform or investment is vital to increase the efficiency of resource use.
Pakes added: “For many of the questions facing us, the circular economy provides some answers. How do we make the UK more resilient in a fractured world? How do we bring skilled jobs to our high streets and industrial heartlands? How do we clean up our streets, rivers and seas? Making better use of precious resources holds a key to all of these.”
Six step plan for better resource use
The six steps vary in their scale and focus. They include an ambitious goal to bring UK resource use within planetary boundaries by 2050, a move to embed circularity into the upcoming Critical Minerals Strategy, and a call for a governmental resource policy which is less focused on municipal waste.
A key ask in the report is for consumers to have a right to repair. This, the authors state, needs to be grounded in three core principles: products are designed for their repairability; there is increased affordability of repair services; and consumers have easy access to the information needed to repair.
Priority is given to the importance of electronics repair, as currently the UK has the second highest level of e-waste per person in the world. The report also suggests that a right to repair could cut the cost of living, stating that poorly-made products impact low-income households, where cheap goods have to be rebought repeatedly.
This follows the Environment Secretary’s recent pledge to end the throwaway society, and echoes the EU’s groundbreaking Right to Repair Directive which came into effect on July 30 2024.
Commenting on the report’s conclusion, Dame Caroline Dinenage MP added: “The circular economy has the potential to boost regional growth and leave Britain cleaner and greener for our children. Increasing the size of the repair and reuse economy, and promoting these skills at a local level, must be central to reforms.”
The report suggests that for successful reform, investment in the UK’s skills system is vital. It proposes that the new DfE agency Skills England should focus on growing skills in repair, remanufacturing and recycling, stating that “Boosting the number of apprenticeships in semi-skilled professions, which do not require a degree or advanced training, will improve the accessibility of circular professions.”
Highlighting the challenge for the Government, Afzal Khan MP said: “We need bold and comprehensive leadership to tackle the waste crisis. The government has come in with the right ambition and now needs to support circular business to grow.”