Fix It, Farm It, Future-Proof It: Circular Push Gathers Pace

The UK can become more resilient to global shocks by using resources more efficiently and giving consumers a “right to repair”, according to a new report launched by a cross-party group of MPs, peers, and supported by major businesses and charities.

As the government prepares to release England’s first Circular Economy Strategy, the Environment All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) – chaired by Labour’s Andrew Pakes MP – has outlined a six-step plan to drive better use of materials and reduce reliance on finite resources.

For the fresh produce and horticultural sectors, the proposals represent a clear opportunity to align with national environmental goals while driving long-term profitability and innovation. From reducing plastic use and composting green waste to reusing packaging and investing in regenerative growing techniques, the principles of a circular economy are already taking root across parts of the industry.

A circular economy aims to minimise waste and pollution by keeping materials in use for as long as possible – through reuse, repair, remanufacturing, or recycling. The APPG report suggests this shift could reduce environmental harm, generate a £25 billion boost to the UK economy by 2035, and create hundreds of thousands of new jobs – many of which could emerge in agriculture, horticulture, logistics, and regional food systems.

Key recommendations include:

• Enshrining the public’s “right to repair”, ensuring products can be fixed rather than binned – a concept that could encourage greater sustainability in everything from farming tools to greenhouse equipment;

  
  

• Embedding reuse of critical minerals in the Clean Energy Mission to secure supply chains for farming tech and controlled-environment agriculture;

  
  

• Setting a national target to reduce the UK’s resource use to within global planetary limits by 2050 – a challenge that aligns closely with horticulture’s ambitions to cut emissions and waste across the supply chain.

Currently, the UK has the second highest level of e-waste per capita in the world and consumes over twice the sustainable resource footprint recommended by the United Nations.

Among the report’s supporters are Conservative MP Dame Caroline Dinenage, Labour’s Uma Kumaran MP, Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay MP, and Wera Hobhouse MP from the Liberal Democrats – reflecting strong cross-party appetite for urgent action.

The report is also backed by companies including SUEZ Recycling and Recovery UK and Mura Technology, and environmental groups such as IEMA, Zero Waste Scotland, and the Green Alliance.

It was officially launched on 17 June at a parliamentary reception, where Environment Secretary Steve Reed MP gave a keynote address.

The Environment APPG’s six steps to accelerate the circular economy are:

• Take a whole-economy approach

  
  

• Direct investment in circular business and innovation

  
  

• Cut the cost of living with a real right to repair

  
  

• Enhance clean energy security with circularity

  
  

• Build the skills needed to get there

  
  

• Set a long-term goal to bring UK resource use within planetary boundaries

Andrew Pakes MP said: “For many of the questions facing us, the circular economy provides some answers. How do we make the UK more resilient in a fractured world? How do we bring skilled jobs to our high streets and industrial heartlands? How do we clean up our streets, rivers and seas? Making better use of precious resources holds a key to all of these.”

Adrian Ramsay MP, Vice Chair of the APPG, added: “We must make better use of resources to tackle the dual nature and climate crisis. Now is the time to think big, galvanising action across the economy to bring resource demand within global limits.”

Afzal Khan MP stressed: “We need bold and comprehensive leadership to tackle the waste crisis. The government has come in with the right ambition and now needs to support circular business to grow.”

Uma Kumaran MP said: “Too often the burden of excess resource use falls on the Global South or developing economies, driving nature loss and pollution from the waste the UK exports. The government has set out a path to end the throwaway society and protect nature not just in the UK but globally – this is more vital than ever to protect our planet and our natural world.”

Dame Caroline Dinenage MP said: “The circular economy has the potential to boost regional growth and leave Britain cleaner and greener for our children. Increasing the size of the repair and reuse economy, and promoting these skills at a local level, must be central to reforms.”

Wera Hobhouse MP added: “The Clean Power 2030 Mission is a crucial measure to reduce our exposure to volatile fossil fuel markets, and it needs to go hand in hand with a strategy to keep critical minerals in use. Reducing our demand will help countries around the world get the minerals they need to decarbonise.”

As food production faces increasing pressure to operate within environmental limits, the circular economy offers a compelling framework for growers, packers, and retailers alike. Whether through investment in closed-loop supply systems, reducing edible and inedible food waste, or boosting on-farm innovation, the UK’s fresh produce and horticulture sectors have much to gain – and even more to contribute – in leading the charge towards a more sustainable economy.

Read the report here.