Circular economy – the future of Europe?

Changing the economic model

We have known and used the linear model of production and consumption – extraction, production, use, and disposal – for years. The problem is that from the outset, it does not place primary emphasis on the reuse of the products it creates. We currently refer to this model as the traditional economy.

The circular economy, which is one of the main pillars of the European Green Deal, is designed in exactly the opposite way. The goal of the circular economy is to create an endless cycle of production and recycling of products. Think of electronics, batteries and cars, packaging and plastics, textiles, building materials, and the food chain as products – they are the primary targets of the circular economy.

From the very beginning – when designing any product – recyclable raw materials should be chosen. The right choice of raw materials goes hand in hand with intelligent product design. This ensures that when a product is manufactured, distributed, and subsequently used, it can be collected, recycled, and used to manufacture not only an identical product, but also a different one. All this with the aim of producing as little (ideally no) residual waste as possible. If residual waste is generated, it will be transformed into secondary resources, which will form a separate market for secondary raw materials.

Such an economic model should guarantee rewards for producers based on their sustainability performance and also motivate consumers to buy such products, because with the introduction of the new economic model, they should also acquire the right to repair.

Right to repair

Alongside the circular economy, the European Union also wants to introduce one of the key pieces of legislation in a new guise – the right to repair. The material sources of this right include circumstances (i) sociological – according to a Eurobarometer survey, 77% of European customers would rather have a product repaired than buy a new one, but buying a product is more economically advantageous for them; (ii) technical – some products are designed at the manufacturing stage to fail after a certain period of time, and important parts of these products cannot be replaced; and (iii) statistical – electronic devices are the fastest growing source of waste in the European Union.

Currently, the right to repair already exists in our legal system, although it is not explicitly named and is regulated within the framework of liability for defects. In general, for new items, the seller is liable for defects that the sold item has at the time of delivery to the buyer. The seller is also liable for defects if the items are not perishable and these defects occur during the warranty period, and the rights arising from liability for defects also apply during the warranty period. The right to repair is set out in Section 622(1) of the Civil Code, as amended: “In the case of a defect that can be removed, the buyer has the right to have it removed free of charge, in a timely manner and properly. The seller is obliged to remove the defect without undue delay.”

The new European right to repair should make repairs more attractive to consumers – providing them with a bonus for repairing a faulty product. In this way, the European Union wants to motivate consumers to repair rather than buy new. There is also discussion about requiring sellers to provide a replacement product during the repair period. Currently (in the Slovak Republic), providing a replacement product during the repair period is rather an exception, which understandably makes consumers more inclined to buy a new one and dispose of the old one. This is because the complaint periods are still too long for a large number of consumers – they usually last 30 to 60 days, during which time the consumer must obtain their own replacement product.

The aforementioned smart designs are intended to contribute to shortening complaint periods. Their role is to ensure that products are more durable, easily repairable, and contain removable and replaceable parts. Complaint periods should therefore be significantly shortened, as the diagnosis of the problem and its subsequent resolution should be very quick, and even during this short period, the consumer will have a replacement product at their disposal that they can use. On top of that, they should also receive a bonus for taking a climate-friendly step.

The European Union is also focusing on warranty periods, which it wants to extend. This will allow consumers to exercise their right to repair to a greater extent, as they will be able to claim it over a longer period of time. Slovak legislation currently sets a 24-month warranty period for new items, 12 months for used items, and in special cases, warranty periods are longer.

The merger of the above changes should therefore transform the existing right to repair into a more effective and usable form. In combination with the circular economy as such, it should help simplify life for our planet and consumers. Only time will tell whether this will be successful.

Sources

1. Act No. 40/1964 Coll. Civil Code, as amended.
2. European Parliament News.
3. Action Plan for the Circular Economy.
4. European Green Deal.

References

1. Section 619(1) and (2) in conjunction with Section 626(1) of the Civil Code, as amended.
2. Section 620(1), (2) and (3) of the Civil Code, as amended.