The European Right-To-Repair and Ecodesign directives have created new opportunities for scaling up the service life of consumer electronics. Circular policy currently focuses mainly on recycling, whereas repair can also offer benefits for the economy. In view of this, the Dutch nature conservation and environmental organisation Natuur&Milieu commissioned CE Delft to assess the socio-economic impact of a national policy package to encourage service life extension.
Our study shows that scaling up refurbishment and repair has both economic and environmental benefits:
It is advisable to further develop and implement policies for extending service life in line with European regulations, such as the Ecodesign Regulation. It is most effective to implement the policy package as a whole, as the individual measures reinforce each other and address specific barriers