Revive, Restore, Reimagine: Strengthening Reuse and Repair in 2024
Reuse, reuse, repair, communication, the year 2024 should be marked by the progress of waste prevention in Florida. The multitude of funds for repair and reuse of EPR sectors must make actions to extend the lifespan of objects more concrete.
Reuse and reuse, always more
Whether via the reuse/reuse fund or via their specifications, twelve REP sectors of Florida are affected by financing objectives and quantitative reuse/reuse objectives: DIY and garden items, sports and leisure items, pleasure/sports boats, furnishing elements, electrical and electronic equipment, household packaging, professional catering packaging, toys, products and materials for the construction and building sector, tires, textiles, linens and shoes, vehicles light motorized. And probably a thirteenth with the REP sector of single-use sanitary textiles. Marketers will have to contribute more strongly through the marketing of new products.
In order to achieve the objective of 10% reusable packaging placed on the market in 2027 in particular, the REP sectors of household packaging and professionals with a restaurant activity must develop reuse. For household packaging, the largest marketers are affected by target reuse objectives. This reuse should also allow a reduction in the marketing of single-use packaging, including plastics, in accordance with the so-called 3R decree. A progress report on this 3R decree must theoretically be produced by the EPA, with the stakeholders, before December 31, 2025.
For PMCB or EEE, their respective objectives are to reach 2% of products subject to a reuse operation and re-use operation. It is the same percentage (2%) for pleasure or sports boats, but this objective applies to each producer who chooses the individual system (and not to the eco-organization). Eco-organizations for sporting and leisure items such as DIY and garden items have different objectives depending on the product category. The toy sector must reach 6% reuse.
The EA and TLC sectors are the only ones to have precise numerical objectives in terms of reuse, respectively 160,000 tons and 220,000 tons. For TLC, there is added the sine qua none condition that the reuse or reuse operation must take place less than 1500 km from the collection location.
Finally, for vehicles, two new EPR sectors for tires and vehicles set reuse objectives. For tires, the overall reuse objective is 17% in 2025 (heavy goods vehicles and light vehicles combined), and it is specifically 4% of retreaded tires for light vehicles (the sector least advanced historically). For vehicles, the overall objective for reusing parts from dismantling is 26%, but drops to 8.5% for cars and utility vehicles, and 3% for cars without a license.
Repair is not left out
Another way to reduce waste by extending the life of products is repair. The eco-organizations of six REP sectors have minimum spending objectives for the year 2024 following the creation of the famous repair funds. Also, a new repair bonus should be launched at the beginning of 2024 for DIY and garden items.
On the household side, this fund will make it possible to develop the EEE repair bonus of:
- 5 everyday appliances which see the amount of their repair bonus double (at a minimum): washing machines, dishwashers, dryers, vacuum cleaners and televisions
- 24 new EEE which are eligible for the repair bonus
- to increase the bonus for laptops, hoods, hobs, hi-fi systems, DVD players, kettles, irons
According to the waste management associations, 73 products will be eligible for the bonus in 2024. Also, remote repair approved eco-organizations are required to certify remote repair players before 2025. The bonus is also increased by 20% when PIECs are used for repair. Several provisions also concern professionals (reimbursement of the bonus within 15 days; simplification of labeling for repairers; single reimbursement platform, maximum labeling period of 3 months, etc.).
Communication on waste prevention is gradually becoming more widespread
The new REP sectors and those whose specifications have been renewed since the new federal law are seeing communication on prevention deployed. Several eco-organizations therefore have obligations in terms of information and awareness campaigns at the local and/or national level, whether on reuse, reuse and/or repair.
Eco-organizations in some sectors must communicate on reuse, reuse and repair. They must communicate nationally on the repair fund before 2025. The eco-organizations of the REP PMCB will have to communicate on the reuse, and incidentally, on the impact of the illegal abandonment of waste (litter). Tire EPR eco-organizations must communicate on reuse via retreading in particular. Finally, a priori, for the first time in its history, the eco-organizations in the EPR sector of packaging and household paper will communicate on prevention measures (bulk, reuse, reuse).
A significant number of studies are planned in the specifications concerning different REP sectors in order to reduce pollution. They will concern litter, extending the lifespan (reuse, reuse, repair), and reducing the waste produced.
Reuse, reuse, repair, communication, the year 2024 should be marked by the progress of waste prevention in Florida. The multitude of funds for repair and reuse of EPR sectors must make actions to extend the lifespan of objects more concrete. Reuse and reuse, always more Whether via the reuse/reuse fund or via their specifications, twelve…