Reuse, repair and recycling are not only environmental activities, they are also, in Ireland and across Europe, delivered to a large extent by the social economy: community-based organisations, social enterprises and charities that put people and community first while operating in a commercially sustainable way, contributing to what’s often called the “triple bottom line” of people, planet and profit. The majority of CRNI’s members are entities of this kind.

This matters for a number of reasons. First, these activities are genuinely labour-intensive: sorting, cleaning, testing and repairing goods requires people, not just machinery, which is why reuse and repair create significantly more jobs per tonne of material handled than recycling or disposal.

Second, this employment is often specifically designed to be inclusive. Many CRNI members provide training and employment routes for people who are long-term unemployed, living with disabilities, or otherwise facing barriers to the labour market, through schemes such as Community Services Programme, Tús, the Rural Social Scheme and Community Employment. This work supports people out of poverty and into skills and career progression, while volunteering opportunities with reuse and recycling organisations also tackle social exclusion and loneliness.

Third, community-based reuse and repair make circular practices affordable and accessible through low-cost second-hand goods, free or low-cost repair, and local skills-sharing, bringing the benefits of the circular transition to people and places that might otherwise be left behind by it. This is why EU circular economy legislation, including the Waste Framework Directive, explicitly encourages support for reuse and repair networks run by social economy enterprises, and why Ireland’s Circular Economy Strategy identifies social equity and community-level action as core objectives, not add-ons.