A report commissioned by the Royal Mail has estimated that 4% of new durable goods, including consumer electrical items, worth a total of 3.2 billion are returned by customers to the retailer in the UK. According to the report, most of these goods are poorly managed by retailers and may be landfilled.
Today, speakers at a London event said that the logistics surrounding these returned goods should be properly managed to reduced costs and environmental impact. Gerry Farwell, Royal Mail's head of supply chain, said that the Royal Mail has been interested in reverse logistics for 2-3 years, studying the more mature US model.
He said: “In the US, where return logistics is a more mature market, it is a multi-billion dollar industry with the majority of returned goods being handled by third parties.”
Returned electrical goods come under the European Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive, which promotes the diversion of waste electronics from landfill by recycling and re-use.
Mr Farwell explained that Royal Mail has been working with US-based ReTurn Logistics to check electrical items that have been returned to its clients, refurbishing them for resale. For this service, ReTurn Logistics has operated an electrical goods grading and refurbishment facility in Swindon for about 18 months.
The company is now looking to recycle the electrical goods that cannot be repaired or resold, to comply with the WEEE Directive. It is also hoping to work with retailers choosing to comply with the Directive by offering their customers take-back of electrical goods.
Norman Bearcroft, managing director of ReTurn Logistics, said: “We see it as an extension of our current services. We see ourselves processing all of the products to try and reduce the amount of WEEE.”
He said that by selling the refurbished goods on internet auction eBay, the Royal Mail and ReTurn Logistics were able to recoup more of the products' original price for the manufacturer or retailer, than if sold on the second hand goods market.
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