POP goes a cost-of-living solution

Not all unwanted sofas are waste. The charity sector wants to divert domestic seating away from waste operators and into the hands of the re-users and consumers who need them. Manufacturers, retailers and waste companies must offer alternative collection methods and divert what would be waste into a product needed by someone in their local community. 

Craig Anderson, CEO of Reuse Network, a charity supporting hundreds of reuse organisations across the UK, shares his views on the latest discussions and responses to POPs guidance and why the waste sector must do more to keep reusable domestic seating in circulation. 

During a time of economic crisis in the UK, when people cannot afford to feed their families and heat their homes, we are throwing away perfectly good household items purely due to the legal definition of when some product becomes waste. In this climate, and with the current guidance in place, there will be a negative impact on every person in the UK being able to replace furniture and other essential items for their home. 

The topic of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in domestic seating surfaced in early to mid-2020 and discussions around its potential impact on the reuse sector and the circular economy have continued to today. 

Needless to say, these pollutants should never have been in circulation from the start. But they have been, due to the chemical industry trying to find alternate uses for flame retardant chemicals that are now recognised as harmful. These chemical substances are flame resistant and therefore were pumped into our sofas for the past three decades as a flame-retardant market alternative.  

After years of discussion and negotiation the reuse sector now has understanding and compromise with the regulatory environment agencies to allow for reuse of seating if donated by the owner and intended for reuse by someone else.  Only if the seating item is “discarded as waste” must it be incinerated. That is clear from current guidance in England, probably soon for Wales and Northern Ireland also, and hopefully in Scotland if regulators see sense with the “definition of waste” criteria.  

The topic of waste aside, we must look at the consumption model and the need of the UK’s excluded consumers – they cannot afford to purchase a new sofa or chair and are probably sitting on a dilapidated one full of POPs anyway.   

If the circular economy has any future, the relevant stakeholders cannot ignore what services already exist; they should build on them. Of course, part of the circular economy venture is to stop producing products that are harmful to the environment in the first place, and of course, design and make them repairable and reusable. The sensible thing to do is not to forsake the infrastructure already in place and allow for a second-hand market to grow and flourish.  

First and foremost, we need Local Authorities and Waste Companies to recognise the alternative to dumping a sofa and to embrace working with the charity reuse sector to meet current socio-economic need in their communities, whilst also reducing sofa and seating waste along with its new burden and cost of disposal via incineration.  

Doing good is doing the right thing, and by working together Local Authorities, Waste Companies, reuse charities and local communities can reap the rewards.