The circular economy is an opportunity too good to waste  – Inside track

The government will launch its new circular economy taskforce soon to help it deliver against its manifesto commitment and to transform resource use in support of a thriving economy. With representatives from industry, civil society, academia and local authorities, the taskforce will take a new, innovative approach to co-designing Circular Economy Strategy for England. Crucially, it also looks set to have cross governmental buy in at the outset, as it will report to a cross governmental ministerial group and produce a series of roadmaps for key industries. 

At Green Alliance we have had our own Circular Economy Task Force for 12 years, so this is something we’ve thought about and studied for ages. To inspire the government in its new push, we have issued a series of three short explainers, summarising just some of the wealth of knowledge we’ve gathered, to showcase exactly what the advantages of a circular economy will be to the UK: for the public, businesses and the wider economy.  

It makes business sense
Higher resource productivity in a circular economy that is squeezing the most value out of the materials it uses means higher profits and can help address problems holding businesses back: in a recent survey, 91 per cent of senior industrialists in Europe said they had problems accessing the resources they needed. Supply chain greenhouse gas emissions make up, on average, 70 per cent of a company’s carbon footprint, so using fewer new materials also helps businesses meet their climate commitments.  

Polling shows consumers increasingly favour products from sustainable businesses and hate waste. Growing the circular economy creates new markets in reuse and remanufacturing, where there is considerable untapped potential for growth across the UK.  

It’s a risk reducer
Sticking with the linear ‘take-make-waste’ economy is a threat to future growth. So says the Green Finance Institute, which estimates that damage to nature caused by the extraction and processing of materials could cut GDP by up to six per cent by the 2030s. And recycling the critical raw materials, like lithium, needed for green energy technologies here in the UK means relying less on volatile global supply chains, cutting costs and increasing our energy security. 

If all of that isn’t enough good news, how about the thousands of new jobs it offers? We’ve estimated that an ambitious, economy wide approach to repair, remanufacturing, reuse, and recycling could create over 450,000 jobs nationwide by 2035, particularly benefiting regions suffering higher unemployment. 

It’s a popular money saver
The ‘circular economy’ can sound abstract, but how does it help people everyday in their pockets? One study shows that reusing products could save UK households between £74 and £280 per year. Ending built in obsolescence would spare people the frustration and expense of frequently replacing low quality goods that can’t be affordably repaired. And a drive to reduce food waste could save households £600 a year on average. 

What is most compelling about a circular economy is that it’s popular. People want change. In our 2024 poll of public attitudes, over 70 per cent of respondents backed every policy option to reduce overproduction and address waste in the fashion industry, while more than 79 per cent supported all policies in a Restart Project poll focused on preventing electronic waste. While the government often fears moving ahead of the public mood, in this instance, the UK has been way behind.  

The scene is set and the time is right. The government has every reason to be highly ambitious in its plans to make this shift in our economy. If it gets this right, as the environment secretary has said, we will all see “benefit after benefit after benefit”. It’s an opportunity too good to waste.