The DOI matches its Crossref record; 108 of the 110 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
The Environmental Impacts of Reuse: A Review
Abstract
Summary: The fear that human consumption is causing climate change, biodiversity loss, and mineral scarcity has recently prompted interest in reuse because of the intuitive belief that it reduces new production and waste. The environmental impacts of reuse have, however, received little attention—the benefits typically assumed rather than understood—and consequently the overall effects remain unclear. In this article, we structure the current work on the topic, reviewing the potential benefits and pitfalls described in the literature and providing a framework for future research. Many products’ use‐phase energy requirements are decreasing. The relative importance of the embodied impacts from initial production is therefore growing and the prominence of reuse as an abatement strategy is likely to increase in the future. Many examples are found in the literature of beneficial reuse of standardized, unpowered products and components, and repairing an item is always found to be less energy intensive than new production. However, reusing a product does not guarantee an environmental benefit. Attention must be paid to restoring and upgrading old product efficiencies, minimizing overspecification in the new application, and considering whether more efficient, new products exist that would be more suitable. Cheap, reused goods can allow many consumers access to products they would otherwise have been unable to afford. Though socially valuable, these sales, which may help minimize landfill in the short term, can represent additional consumption rather than a net environmental benefit compared to the status quo.
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“Structural steel has a particular propensity for reuse considering its maintained capacity over time (durability), potential for reversible connections (e.g., bolted connections), maturity as a technology and high level of standardization, and modularity, all of which have been identified as enabling factors for reuse (Lee et al. 2024;Cooper and Gutowski 2017).”
From Reusing Heavy-Section Steel in Buildings: Carbon Reduction Potential and Material Availability (2025) · cites this paper as Cooper and Gutowski 2017
In the citing paper
“lifetime extension is only valid when the avoided impacts from production, e.g., energy use and the subsequent reduction in impact upstream such as raw material extraction and transportation, are lower than the impacts from producing more durable components or treating the returned product to extend its lifetime [20,26].”
From Is Prolonging the Lifetime of Passive Durable Products a Low-Hanging Fruit of a Circular Economy? A Multiple Case Study (2019) · cites this paper as [20]
In the citing paper
“Passive durable products, however, hold a larger and more consistent potential for environmental improvement because their environmental impact is dominated by the production phase, usually the production of materials, while their physical lifetime is not fully exploited [20].”
From Is Prolonging the Lifetime of Passive Durable Products a Low-Hanging Fruit of a Circular Economy? A Multiple Case Study (2019) · cites this paper as [20]
In the citing paper
“Passive durable products, however, hold a larger and more consistent potential for environmental improvement because their environmental impact is dominated by the production phase, usually the production of materials, while their physical lifetime is not fully exploited [20].”
From Is Prolonging the Lifetime of Passive Durable Products a Low-Hanging Fruit of a Circular Economy? A Multiple Case Study (2019) · cites this paper as [20]
In the citing paper
“the extension of the lifetime of passive durable products, i.e., products that do not consume energy or materials during the use phase, has been found by researchers to have high potential [18][19][20].”
From Is Prolonging the Lifetime of Passive Durable Products a Low-Hanging Fruit of a Circular Economy? A Multiple Case Study (2019) · cites this paper as [20]
In the citing paper
“Passive durable products, however, hold a larger and more consistent potential for environmental improvement because their environmental impact is dominated by the production phase, usually the production of materials, while their physical lifetime is not fully exploited [20].”
From Is Prolonging the Lifetime of Passive Durable Products a Low-Hanging Fruit of a Circular Economy? A Multiple Case Study (2019) · cites this paper as [20]
In the citing paper
“Estimates for remanufacturing savings of EEE range from 50%-80% when the use phase is excluded [19].”
From Material efficiency strategies to reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with buildings, vehicles, and electronics—a review (2019) · cites this paper as [19]
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“For example, while it appears that firms and governments believe that sales of used products cannibalize sales of new ones, research suggests that such displacement is likely limited (Thomas, 2003; Guide and Li, 2010; Frota Neto et al., 2016; Cooper and Gutowski, 2017).”
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“Deconstruction has been advocated for its environmental benefits as it prevents the extraction of virgin materials, cuts the associated release of greenhouse gases, saves energy and water consumption and avoids solid waste disposal (Cooper and Gutowski 2015, Diyamandoglu and Fortuna 2015).”
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“…reversible joints that allow easy disassembly, mature technology and design (Cooper and Gutowski, 2015) as well as modular designs that allow for upgrading and repair enables the reuse of obsolete mobile phones (Cooper and Gutowski, 2015; Hankammer et al., 2017; Proske and Jaeger-Erben, 2019).”
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“‘Reuse’ is a relevant and key element in its approach (Cooper and Gutowski 2017) because the first use phase is often relatively short in the resource-intensive EEE sector.”
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Introduction to the use of recycled plastics in eco-efficient concrete
Pacheco-Torgal, F. (2019) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-08-102676-2.00001-3 · Cited by 45
Ovais, D. (2023) · Regional Sustainability · doi:10.1016/j.regsus.2023.02.002 · Cited by 54
Yang, L., Ren, F., Feng, Q., Xu, G., Li, X., Li, Y., Zhao, E., Ma, J., & Fan, S. (2018) · Journal of Electronic Materials · doi:10.1007/s11664-018-6284-8 · Cited by 44
Material Services with Both Eyes Wide Open
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Circular economy considerations in choices of LCA methodology: How to handle EV battery repurposing?
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Cullen, J. M., & Cooper, D. (2022) · Annual Review of Materials Research · doi:10.1146/annurev-matsci-070218-125903 · Cited by 47
Self-citationSchulz-Mönninghoff, M., Neidhardt, M., & Niero, M. (2022) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.135232 · Cited by 46
Dominish, E., Retamal, M., Sharpe, S. A., Lane, R., Rhamdhani, M. A., Corder, G. D., Giurco, D., & Florin, N. (2018) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su10041096 · Cited by 42
“Recovering components through reverse logistics is also difficult [83].”
BackgroundInfluentialMartínez, M. P., Carrillo, C., Iglesias, J. R., & Soto, B. (2021) · Sustainable Production and Consumption · doi:10.1016/j.spc.2021.03.017 · Cited by 40
Kitayama, S., & Iuorio, O. (2023) · Journal of Architectural Engineering · doi:10.1061/jaeied.aeeng-1615 · Cited by 41
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Kalubanga, M., & Mbekeka, W. (2023) · International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management · doi:10.1108/ijppm-09-2022-0463 · Cited by 34
Chembessi, C. D. R., Beaurain, C., & Cloutier, G. (2021) · Environmental Challenges · doi:10.1016/j.envc.2021.100362 · Cited by 34
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“In addition, in many countries, the lack of a market for reusable components represents a substantial barrier to establishing a closed-loop supply chain in the construction industry [23,24].”
Gutowski, T., Cooper, D., & Sahni, S. (2017) · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences · doi:10.1098/rsta.2016.0368 · Cited by 34
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Optimal durability in least life cycle cost methods: the case of LED lamps
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“…have demonstrated that longer product lifetimes can be preferred for some product groups, particularly when the environmental impacts in the extraction, production and waste phases are the most significant; this generally applies for ICT products (Bakker et al. 2012; Cooper and Gutowski 2015).”
BackgroundValue Retention Options in Circular Economy: Issues and Challenges of LED Lamp Preprocessing
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“The literature suggests that most low value appliances either end up in landfill or find places in relatively poor countries [15].”
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Metadata
- Authors
- Cooper, D. R., & Gutowski, T. G.
- Affiliations
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US)
- Corresponding author
- Cooper, Daniel R.
- Venue
- Journal of Industrial Ecology
- Published
- 2015-12-28
- Volume
- 21
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 38-56
- ISSN
- 1088-1980 (ISSN-L)
- 1530-9290
- OpenAlex
- W2216148103
- Cited by
- 337
- References
- 110
- Citations by year
- 2026: 28 · 2025: 51 · 2024: 45 · 2023: 41 · 2022: 33 · 2021: 34 · 2020: 31 · 2019: 33 · 2018: 26 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 4
- FWCI
- 38.28
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Industrial Ecology (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Sustainable Supply Chain Management
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Building and Construction › Sustainable Design and Development
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Engineering › Environmental Impact and Sustainability
- Keywords
- reuse, embodied energy, product repair, product upgrading, overspecification, waste reduction, climate change mitigation, biodiversity loss, mineral scarcity, circular economy
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