I read with excitement – yes, really – that a new symbol has been designed to encourage people to reuse products.

It was a lengthy and involved process to arrive at the winning design, which aims to be globally recognised. I’m doing my bit by talking about it here, because I believe anything that can help more people reuse is beneficial to us all.

I’m a massive reducer, reuser and recyclist, and I have been for a very long time – way before it was fashionable, and back when it was actively frowned upon/laughed at. In yer face, those who thought I was bonkers/a (tie) dyed-in-the-wool hippy. I was, in fact, a pioneer. An early adopter of environmentally responsible consumption before anyone had coined that phrase. So yes, I very much welcome this new reuse symbol.

The last few years have demonstrated that (some) people really do need to be told what to do, even though, equally, there’s a ton of people who absolutely hate being told what to do and won’t, however you frame the message. That’s the whole point of nudge theory and behaviour change: you’re not forcing anyone, you’re making the right choice the easy choice. This reuse symbol is very much part of communicating a message in a clear visual way.

A reuse symbol is of course, not a solution in itself. But it can and will help align consumer behaviour, business practices and policy around a shared visual language – which is no small thing.

The stats around consumption and recycling continue to be rather depressing. Plastic consumption is expected to triple by 2060. And despite most household plastic carrying a recycling symbol, only 16% of UK household plastic packaging is actually recycled. Most (59%) is burned in the UK, while 16% is exported overseas and a further 9% goes to landfill.

Which brings us back to why reuse matters (arguably MUCH more than recycling). People often assume recycling is the most effective way to manage waste. It isn’t. Reducing the amount of material entering the system in the first place – through reusable packaging, designing out waste, and genuinely circular economy thinking – is the most effective strategy.

So what does genuine reduce and reuse actually look like?

Refillable stuff. Like, bringing back the pop man, as I talked about in a post of mine from 7 years ago. Like Ocado’s reusable packaging scheme for liquid detergents and fabric conditioners through the UK Refill Coalition.

Libraries of things. Tool libraries, toy libraries, clothing swaps – the idea that you borrow what you need and give it back, thus designing out the need to own stuff in the first place.

Repair cafés. Pay nothing, bring your broken thing, leave with it fixed. Extending the life of products is one of the most effective waste reduction strategies going.

Swap shops. I have just started a local Facebook group for swaps in the spirit of a hyperlocal reuse ethos AND in the spirit of 80s Saturday morning telly with Noel Edmonds. If you have one near you, please do shout up with tips for me. I’ve never actually seen one in action.

What reuse is NOT. On the flip side, and because I can’t miss an opportunity to bash plastic lawns, did you know that around 21% of UK households are planning to, or already have, replaced their natural lawn with artificial grass? Laying one artificial lawn is the plastic equivalent of hundreds of thousands of plastic straws. It sheds microplastics into soil and waterways. It prevents water absorption, contributing to flooding, and releases stored carbon when the natural lawn it replaces is cleared. And when it eventually wears out? Because artificial grass fibres are bonded to their base and impossible to clean of grit and soil, almost none of it gets recycled. Most ends up in landfill. It is the opposite of everything a reuse symbol stands for but a great example to show just how much a reuse symbol is needed.

New symbol, old message, urgent need. The reuse symbol won’t save the planet on its own. Neither will my swap shop, or bringing back the pop man, or this blog post. But a shared visual language that nudges millions of people toward better choices? That’s not nothing.