WRAP launches consultation for a proposed Re-use Standard 2013 to encourage UK organisations to offer products for re-use.
Not-for-profit organisation WRAP has announced that it has launched a consultation process for the proposal of a Re-use Standard in the UK that would enable organisations in the country to offer products for re-use that have been subjected to a quality-assured process.
It is hoped by WRAP that such a standard would build customer confidence in buying from the re-use sector and aiding its development; with the Re-use Standard 2013 to be supported by a number of product-specific requirement standards that will detail additional criteria organisations would need to meet, including those from product groups such as electricals, furniture and textiles.
Currently in draft form, the Standard has been put together in association with a Technical Advisory Group (TAG) comprising of UK stakeholders from across the re-use sector covering Governments, public bodies, commercial and charitable re-use operators as well as waste and resource management companies.
Dr David Moon, Head of Resource Efficiency in Products and Services at WRAP, commented: “An important constraint on the growth of this sector is weak consumer confidence in the quality of products offered for re-sale. This is partly due to the shortage of publicly available standards for preparing such items. The Re-use Standard will address this gap, and we now welcome comments that will help shape the Standard.”
The consultation, which will run for a two-month period, will seek technical and editorial comments on the Standard as well as views on the extent of the need for product-specific requirements and on branding, compliance and associated issues.
While the consultation is primarily aimed at organisations and businesses undertaking the collection, processing and dispatch of products or components for re-use, feedback is also encouraged from all customers and operators in the supply chain as well as producers for re-use products and components, including business/private sector, trade associations, charity/voluntary bodies, central government, local/regional government, and agency/public bodies.