Originally published at: https://therestartproject.org/right-to-repair/repair-reuse-declaration/100-mps-have-joined-our-call-for-a-right-to-repair/
One hundred MPs have now shown their support for repair and reuse. By signing our Repair and Reuse Declaration, they have joined our call for policies that could help bring down the cost of living, breathe life into local businesses and do our bit for the planet.
This is a huge milestone and demonstrates increasingly widespread support across Parliament; MPs from 10 parties and in every nation of the UK have signed.
It comes as the Government prepares to release its much anticipated “Circular Economy Growth Plan”. This plan will build on recommendations made by the Circular Economy Task Force that we helped persuade to consider electrical waste last year.
Check whether your MP has signed here: https://therestartproject.org/campaigns/repair-reuse-declaration
What are we asking for?
Repairing and reusing our everyday items can help us transform our throwaway economy into one that works better for people and the planet. Right now, we’re throwing away too much—the UK is still the world’s second highest producer of e-waste per person(1)—and missing opportunities to revitalise our high streets, bring communities together and create the green jobs of the future.
Our Repair and Reuse Declaration calls on UK legislators and decision-makers at all levels to help us fix this by supporting repair and reuse to thrive, including introducing the following measures:
- Make repair more affordable, through tax reductions and repair vouchers
- Make repair easier: Expand the UK’s right to repair regulations to cover all consumer products, strengthen design standards and remove barriers to repair for everyone.
- Introduce a repair index to help the public choose more repairable and durable products
- Save reusable products from being wasted: introduce requirements and targets for reuse and repair to be prioritised over recycling, and provide investment to make this a reality. This should be a key part of amended Extended Producer Responsibility rules.
- Support a new generation of repairers through repair training, accreditation and apprenticeships.
→ Learn more about these policies here
These policies are overwhelmingly popular, enjoying support from 4 in 5 Brits.
What’s next?
As other countries take steps towards a universal Right to Repair, the Government’s upcoming “Circular Economy Growth Plan” presents a rare opportunity for the UK to catch up.
Here’s what we’ll be looking out for:
- Will the plan do anything to reduce the cost of repair? As we’ve discovered in our trial of an Electrical Repair Voucher Scheme with ReLondon, reducing the cost of repair is not only effective at encouraging local residents to repair, but it’s also a crucial support for local repair businesses. Many of these struggle to compete with the low cost of new products, while the design of these products makes them harder and more costly to repair.
- Will our right to repair laws catch up with those of our neighbours? Right to Repair regulations in the EU now cover smartphones and tablets, stating that spare parts must be available for 7 years and software updates for 5, and devices must endure 800 battery charge cycles and 45 drops. The UK needs to at least align with these, and other, laws – or even better, go further.
- Will the plan do anything to keep in use the huge number of working products that are currently being shredded for recycling? In a 2023 study of products destined for an electrical waste bin, we found that almost half of the products sent to be shredded for recycling weren’t even broken, or could have been easily repaired. This level of waste must be addressed by repair and reuse targets, and we hope to see a pathway towards these in the plan.
- Will the plan boost repair skills? The repair workforce is diminishing as skilled technicians reach retirement, but with the right support, we can encourage a new generation of people to become fixers. At the Fixing Factories we’ve developed with Possible, we’ve seen the popularity of repair training. Government intervention, like support for accreditation and apprenticeships can help to build repair skills at scale.
Later this month, we’re bringing community repair representatives from across the UK into the Houses of Parliament in Westminster to make our case to MPs in person. We hope to put repair and reuse firmly on the political agenda as the Government outlines its plans.
Help us reach your local MP
Last time we went to Parliament, MPs were twice as likely to show up if they had received just one invitation from a constituent. And they were 3-4 times more likely to show up after receiving two invitations.
Whether or not your MP has signed the Declaration, we’d love to see them at our event in Parliament. Use our simple email tool to send them an invitation:
Find our email tool here: https://therestartproject.org/campaigns/repair-reuse-declaration
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(1) The Global E-waste Monitor 2024: https://ewastemonitor.info/the-global-e-waste-monitor-2024/
