The Benefits of Reuse tool is an Excel-based model to estimate economic, environmental, and social indicators for re-use compared to other disposal routes. This can be used to measure the impacts of existing reuse schemes, model the potential benefits of reuse, and understand the trade-offs between different impacts of re-use.
Summary
The Benefits of Reuse tool was originally developed in 2011 to provide a consistent means of assessing the impacts of reusing products. It has been updated in 2024 with updated assumptions and a more user-friendly interface. The tool is based on life cycle assessment and can be used to model or report on actions which move products/materials up the waste hierarchy. The output variables in BOR3 are greenhouse warming potential (GWP), costs (to households, government, and third sector), and employment (including or excluding volunteers).
The aim of the tool is to help individuals and organisations working in the re-use sector to quantify the key environmental and socio-economic impacts of re-use. It can be used to:
- Identify products for future focus for re-use (e.g. if there is a low re-use rate but high potential benefit),
- Understand the trade-offs between different impacts of re-use,
- Highlight opportunities for change within a re-use or disposal route,
- Understand the reasons behind the results, and
- Provide supporting messages for re-use.
The 2024 update includes three documents:
- An Excel-based Benefits of Reuse 3 (BOR 3) tool. In this tool, the user can select a product or product group (for example ‘dining table’ or ‘home furniture’) and compare the impacts of two disposal routes including landfill, energy for waste (EfW), recycling, preparation for reuse, and reuse. The reuse pathway also includes further options to distinguish between sending an item to a charity shop or selling directly (for example through an online marketplace).
- A user guide for the tool which includes definitions used and explanations of all inputs and outputs in the tool.
- A climate impact report which uses the updated tool to test a range of hypotheses around the climate impacts of reuse.
Findings of the climate impact report
WRAP tested different routes of disposing and re-using selected products to update evidence for which were better to combat climate change. The results show that:
- No disposal routes are better than re-use routes for any or all items.
- Recycling is better than other disposal routes but not better than re-use.
- Landfilling products has the greatest negative impact and should be avoided apart from for clothing where it can be preferable to incineration.
- Sending a quantity of products to charity shops gives the greatest benefit apart from for clothing where exchanging clothing for money can be preferable.
Overall, re-use is always better than all disposal, including recycling. The type of re-use that is best varies by product and the relative benefit of changing from business as usual varies greatly.
Download files
By downloading resources you are agreeing to use them according to our terms and conditions.
These files may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.
