According to the EU Waste Framework Directive, there is high demand for intensified efforts in terms of waste prevention and reuse pursuant to the 5-step waste hierarchy of the EU-member states. However, repair and reuse of used products has increasingly lost significance during the last years, due to increasing complexity and shorter innovation cycles of electronic products.
The low percentage of electronic devices that are reused mainly results from the missing interconnection in this area. This feasibility study - within the framework of the research project "ECOPOL - Accelerating eco-innovation policies" - aims at checking whether the idea for a pilot project "Re-use - One step beyond", developed within the project, is realisable.
At the beginning, existing German and European networks in the field of reuse will be represented, that already practice waste prevention successfully by means of promoting repair.
Subsequently, the crucial economic, legal and institutional-informational barriers of these networks will be analysed within their contexts, just as relevant factors of success and possible methods of solution.
Finally, a first prioritization based on research outcomes of the Wuppertal Institute will suggest in which areas the promotion of reuse-networks could make a significant contribution to improve resource efficiency.