Page 10 - U4SSC Case study: Re-use of consumer goods and tools loaning, June 2020

Case Study 2 – London: The Library of Things

Author:

- Tony Lee Luen Len

Introduction

Background

London is currently transitioning into one of the world’s most resource-efficient cities, with the Mayor
of London’s pledge to attain a 65 per cent recycling rate by 2030 and to be a zero-carbon city by 2050
(Ogleby, 2017). With the launch of a route map by the London Waste and Recycling Board (LWARB),
more than 100 practical actions on the re-using, remanufacture and redistribution of materials have
been made available to the city’s stakeholders, in order to help them and the city become more
resource resilient. Moreover, this comes with a promise of new job creations in five areas of focus,
namely textiles, electrical, packaging, the built environment and the food industry (Greater London
Authority, 2018).

These measures stem from the city’s need to shift to a circular economy, a more holistic alternative
to the current linear economy, mimicking the natural ecosystems in order to help decouple economic
growth from harmful environmental impacts (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2015).

Figure 1: Illustration of different types of economy (Ministry of the Environment, 2016)

London’s current waste situation is quite alarming. The local authorities are collecting about 3.7 million
tons of waste, which corresponds to 1 500 Olympic-size swimming pools filled to full capacity, while the
recycling rates have gone back down to 2010 levels (Cole, 2017). With London’s population expected
to grow to around 10 to 13 million people over the next 30 years, an additional 1 million tons of waste
per year will have to be collected so contributing greatly to the major threats posed by climate change
and the rapid depletion of the world’s resources.

4 Case study: Re-use of consumer goods and tools loaning, June 2020