Response to the Draft Eco-design and Energy Labelling Regulations 2021

For immediate release Wednesday 10 March 2021 

Responding to the Draft Ecodesign and Energy Labelling Regulations 2021 and the requirement for manufacturers to make spare parts readily available in particular, Craig Anderson, Reuse Network CEO says:

“We welcome this new tougher stance from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and look forward to seeing reuse charities and social enterprises have better access to spare parts in order to repair and reuse electrical goods.

“The Reuse Network has been lobbying the EU and UK government for this for decades. We’ve encountered numerous and increasing restrictions in the repair and reuse of EEE and WEEE due to parts failure and it is at times near impossible to reach, let alone fix the broken part inside the machine.

“Our network of charities collects over 334,000 electrical appliances every year to repair, reuse and pass on to low-income households.

“The promise of reuse was given on leaving the EU – this needs to be delivered for the benefit of the environment and social welfare in the UK.

“The original EU Circular Economy Action Plan, had major implications for the electrical and electronics market and on the resulting waste stream. It is now up to the UK Government to develop primary legislation and policies that include stricter product standards, longer guarantees, plus make reparability and durability a characteristic of all electrical products.  This has to be legislation that prevents ‘planned obsolescence’ in manufacture, and must include practical incentives to increase reuse and repair work. We need to start with the consumers’ attitudes and behaviour and ensure they are properly understood in order to introduce these changes in the consumption of electrical appliances and to reduce waste.”

ENDS

Note to the editors:

• The Reuse Network is a membership body of hundreds of furniture reuse charities in the UK.
• The Reuse Network has been awarded funding from Ecosurety to update and produce their guidance on WEEE repair and reuse (due end of 2021 / start of 2022)
• Our yearly membership figures shows that in 2019, the charitable reuse sector collected on average 334,800 electrical appliances, resulting in 145,500 households helped, 16,000 tonnes of waste diverted and 20,800 tonnes of CO2 savings.
• The draft regulation can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/draft-ecodesign-and-energy-labelling-regulations-2021
• The EU Circular Economy Plan can be accessed here: https://ec.europa.eu/environment/circular-economy/
• Craig Anderson, CEO is available for interview.
• Photos are available upon request.

Media Contact:
Claire Charras
Communications and Marketing Manager
claire.charras@reuse-network.org.uk
0772 6358 243