Benefits of reuse tool

WRAP has developed a product re-use tool, part of our suite of materials showing the benefits of increasing re-use.

If you are accessing the tool for the first time please read the following.

What is it?

This tool enables you to estimate the environmental and economic impacts of re-using selected products in the UK. The information can be used to quantify the potential benefits of re-use activity (e.g. if you are a local authority considering new schemes or wanting to estimate the impact of existing activity). 

Who would find this tool useful?

The tool is aimed at re-use organisations and local authorities who want to estimate the wider environmental and economic impacts relating to their existing activities, and those considering initiating or expanding re-use activities who want to understand what some of the impacts could be.

What benefits does the tool show?

The tool shows that re-use:

• typically leads to a net increase in UK jobs by creating new employment in refurbishment, transport and sale & distribution of products; 
• leads to greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions; and 
• provides significant economic benefits to UK households, both through sale of unwanted items and access to goods at a lower price.

What information does it show?

The tool enables comparison between two management routes for products, such as landfill and direct re-use, or energy recovery and preparation for re-use. The methodology used is consistent with recognised standards on life cycle assessment (ISO 14040 and 14044) and guidance on Social Return on Investment, and covers impacts such as jobs created, GHG emissions and economic value. 

What products does it include?

The tool has been updated with a number of improvements: 

• The number of products which can be assessed has been expanded to cover categories, including clothing, home electricals and furniture. 
• An additional example product, carpet, has also been added. This means that the tool can now be used to estimate the impact of a wider range of re-use activities than previously.

How do I use it?

Using the “Scenario Selection” tab, choose a product or category to review, select what scenarios and impacts you are interested in and then view the results of each scenario in turn.

• The “Total impact per scenario” chart shows your selected scenarios side by side. The difference between the two columns is the benefit of one route over another. For example, if Scenario 1 shows GHG emissions of 1 tonne CO2eq, and Scenario 2 shows emissions of 0.2 tonnes CO2eq, then Scenario 2 avoids 0.8 tonnes CO2eq compared to Scenario 1.
• The “Detailed Results” tab provides a breakdown of where different impacts occur, such as where emissions occur or where income changes.
• The Headline Results box shows the impact of one scenario only. To change this, click on the “Detailed Results” tab and change the scenario in the drop down menu.

The data is based on national (UK) averages. Wherever possible, the data used has been updated to values for 2012/13.