Percentage of citizens who have chosen alternatives to buying new products

This Eurobarometer survey found that on average, 35% of respondents had ever bought a remanufactured product instead of a new product; 27% of respondents confirmed that they have used at some point some form of a sharing scheme; and 21% of respondents confirmed to have leased or rented a product instead of buying it. Data greatly varies between Member States, as shown in Figure 1.

Customer interest in collaborative economy can be supported by the development of new business models, which are not centered on ownership, but rather on lending and sharing with peers. In addition, new production processes are required to facilitate remanufacturing of products, such as modular production. The European Commission, in the framework of the Circular Economy Action Plan, is developing several activities which intend to help addressing the barriers to remanufacturing, refurbishment, repair and reuse. The working plan for eco-design has a focus on reparability, upgradability and recyclability. Through development of eco-design standards, the promotion of remanufacturing, refurbishment, repair, and direct reuse should be facilitated.

Choosing alternatives to buying new products results more circular than the traditional linear (and individual) consumption model, since products are used for longer time and are more intensively. This can be embraced by collaborative economy approaches, i.e. business models that create marketplaces for the temporary usage of goods or services. Also by increasing the level of product remanufacturing — where faulty / old components of a used products are substituted, and the product is sold with the same guarantees as a new product — and sharing. Data is lacking to track trends in the use of these products, due to the novelty of the concepts. 

Here data from the Eurobarometer is presented, in particular from the survey that seek to understand citizens’ perceptions, attitudes and practices related to the efficient use of resources and the generation and management of waste, as well as elements of the circular economy (including purchase of second-hand products and alternatives to buying new products). The RREUSE network provides alsosome data on the amount of reused goods in specific categories.