Draft response to DfE consultation

The deadline is the 20^th March 2023 for the Department for the Economy’s consultation draft Circular Economy Strategy for Northern Ireland. This draft strategy sets out a vision that by 2050, Northern Ireland will have an innovative, inclusive and competitive economy where business, people and planet flourish, with responsible production and consumption at its core.

RSUA has formulated a draft response in conjunction with the climate emergency committee. Special thanks to the contributions made by Maeve Gorman, Alan Ritchie and Jane Rogers.

Points from RSUA’s draft response are:

• RSUA recommends government should go beyond ‘right to repair’ to ‘presumption of repair’. RSUA recognises it can be difficult to apply to the private market but could be applied in the public sector. For example, where an item may have previously been replaced the government could introduce the ‘presumption to repair’ where it must be demonstrated that an item is irreparable before it can be replaced with a new one.

• RSUA recommends that if there is to be a Circular Economy delivery body it must be government led. RSUA believes that government should view the move towards a circular economy as an opportunity to grow sustainable development. RSUA recommends focusing on using tax and financial incentives, legislation, and enforcement to ensure compliance.

To view RSUA’s draft response, please click here. 

If you have any comments you would like incorporated into RSUA’s final response, please contact Lucy Mulgrew via lucy@rsua.org.uk.