Brought to you by Andy Kellar from Ecogenesys 

In recent years, conscious reuse; whether driven by the “cost of living” crisis, increased environmental awareness or a combination of both, is becoming more prevalent. This is aided by the growing popularity of platforms such as eBay, Vinted and Facebook Marketplace, which is evidence that re-use is more acceptable than it once was. 

Consumer attitudes

In a 2024 research study by waste management company FCC, it was estimated that that 84% of British shoppers buy second hand items.  

The reuse network in the UK of which Ecogenesys (formerly REPIC) is a member, calculated that they facilitated the reuse of 2.55 million items of furniture or electrical items in the UK in 2024. However, this is just a portion of the estimated total, as not all instances of reuse are captured in official statistics, as detailed below.  

Given the scale of its UK operations, Ecogenesys is involved in a number of repair centres adjacent to Household Waste Recycling Centres across the U.K. and has partnerships with reuse facilities across the country. These centres are often set up with links to local community groups or charities, however there is no central reporting system for sales of electrical items via charity shops and reuse centres. This lack of national-level data is compounded by online peer-to-peer sales via platforms such as eBay and Vinted, and further still by gifting. 

With regard to electricals specifically, some producers are keen to promote reuse although consumer appetite for second-hand items appears to be lower than non-electrical items. Ecogenesys undertook research in 2024, which found that 85% of consumers would prefer a new electrical item, citing concerns about safety, trust, and longevity. This is echoed by FCC’s research which found that electrical items represented the lowest percentage of items purchased from reuse shops (at 7%) versus 24% for books and 19% for clothes. It was evident from the Ecogenesys research, that items such as mobiles, tech and display equipment are more likely to be considered for a second-hand purchase than wearable tech and grooming products, suggesting that hygiene concerns may deter second-hand purchases for certain product groups. 

The current UK legislation

In broad terms, the UK follows the “Producer Responsibility” principal, as per the original intentions of the WEEE Directive. This is achieved by producers registering with a compliance scheme who take on the obligation to finance the collection, treatment and recovery of household WEEE. In order to meet this obligation, the waste electricals need to be re-used or recycled by an approved authorised treatment facility (AATF) – but prior to this, the items in question need to be classed as WEEE and not used EEE. Specific guidance is laid down to ensure that a robust system exists to achieve this.  

Where an item is reused via a charity shop donation, personal (e.g. online) sale or donation, re-use at Local Authority waste site or product repair, the electrical item is never classed as WEEE, and as such will not generate an evidence note for a Producer Compliance Scheme to use meet its producer member obligations. 

This being the case, official reuse generating evidence notes from WEEE is understandably very low. Table 1 (above) highlights UK Government data for January to September 2024, showing that just over 2% of WEEE is recorded as reused, varying significantly from the research surveys undertaken and the actual numbers. 

The UK Government consultation

In early 2024, the UK Government undertook a consultation with a stated aim of “Seeking views on reforms to increase levels of WEEE reuse and recycling”. The consultation was broad, covering a number of themes and topics, and the results  were published in December 2024. There was a general consensus from the sector that more focus could be given to reuse. Suggestions included new targets for reuse (alongside recycling), higher weighting for reuse evidence, and “free” collections from charity shops of waste electrical items. 

There were also legitimate concerns raised of unintended consequences of reuse such as “extending the life of EEE with low energy efficiency or electrical safety risks”. Crucially there was strong agreement (83%) that reuse data from retailers and local authorities should be captured in more detail and that “such reuse data could be used to offset the WEEE obligation of producers.  

Conclusions

Correct re-use of electrical items is a key element of a circular economy and is something that the vast majority of participants agree upon. The current system in the UK is set up in a way whereby official figures do not record the majority of electrical reuse that happens in practice. It is highly unlikely that the full scale of electrical reuse can be tracked, however a mechanism to better estimate would be highly beneficial to all actors in the chain.