Green Alliance urged the government to drive economic growth by expanding the circular economy which sees products and resources kept in use for as long as possible through reuse, recovery, remanufacturing and recycling.
The UK’s current approach is unsustainable, the report found, with too many products and materials cast aside without a structure in place to reclaim them or prolong their use.
Indeed, a study from last year found that Britons produce the second largest amount of e-waste per person in Europe, producing around 55kg of e-waste each.
The report claims that a reused iPhone retains around 48 per cent of its original value compared to just 0.24 per cent when recycled.
“Just a few new policies focused on improving the use of valuable resources, led by the Treasury, would help to drive economic growth and the government’s own levelling up agenda,” the report reads.
Using current employment data and an in-house methodology, the think tank estimated...