The report – ‘Circular Economies and Sustainable Health and Well-being: The public health impact of public bodies refocusing on waste reduction and reuse in Wales’, details how implementing policies to reduce and re-use waste, alongside recycling schemes will have possible significant positive impacts on health and well-being for the whole population of Wales. These include contributing to tackling the climate emergency and thereby reducing air pollution, reducing risk of extreme weather events, increased sustainable production of food and improved mental health and well-being.
There are also potential negative effects, mainly in economic terms, such as potential loss of employment within areas such as recycling, incineration, and landfill sites and potential employment opportunity decline in the landfill management sector during the transition from the existing linear approach to a cyclical system focused on reduce and reuse.
But these would be expected to be relatively short term, with more positive benefits being seen in the medium to long-term.
Case Study – Making kindness visible: Women’s Swap Shop Swansea