Currys CEO Alex Baldock has called on the government to slash VAT on refurbished electrical products in an effort to keep them out of landfill.
Mr Baldock told The Guardian: “It has already been charged once on these products. I would like to see a radical reduction or entire cut on these products.”
Currys CEO, Alex Baldock
The electrical retail industry has been increasing its repair and resale operations over the course of the last few years. Mr Baldock said that making the process of repairing and selling refurbished items easier would help the retailer to reduce the 8.1m defunct used electrical goods sent off for recycling to external partner Environcom.
He added that he hopes the new government will “take a different stance” on the Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging (EPR) scheme, which is due to come into force in 2026, and means that Currys will no longer be able to charge to collect customers’ used white goods or TVs over 44-inch.
He has also said that recycling is expensive and if that cost cannot be passed on to customers, then retailers will do less of it.
