Symbolic politics with side effects

From a political point of view, the concept of reuse is highly valued, but insufficiently anchored in both legal and operational terms. It intervenes in established material flow and business models, but without being backed up by clear specifications, incentives or responsibilities. For the waste management industry, this creates conflicting goals, additional costs and a certain degree of uncertainty. The question of whether reuse targets actually bring about real waste avoidance or merely have a symbolic political effect therefore remains open. In the report "Targets for reuse and preparing for reuse in the European Union", the Belgium-based NGO RReuse has examined current reuse practices and possible new designs.