In 2022, the European Union made two key steps to not only achieve a circular economy by 2050 but also move away from what Dr. W. Van Winden describes as a throw-away economy. First, it introduced the ‘right to repair’ law as a way to enable supply of spare parts and extend the life of devices that were otherwise getting replaced every year or two. Then it introduced a framework for a common charger that will reduce e-waste and support cross compatibility for chargers across devices.
While these steps are crucial to enable sustainable development, Winden, a professor of urban economics at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, sees a need to rethink conventional economic structure.