The Recolight Reuse Hub is a new lighting digital marketplace. An online platform to facilitate the donation of new and used lighting products and equipment. It is the first of its kind for the donation, reuse, and remanufacture of lighting products.
Currently, there are considerable volumes of new and used lighting products that are needlessly recycled when they could be reused. The Recolight Reuse Hub allows donors of such products to link up with potential recipients; companies that could use the donated products.
Who is the Reuse Hub for?
The Reuse Hub is open to any type of organisation, including manufacturers, remanufacturers, wholesalers, specifiers, end users, charities, and more. Lighting producers that are not yet Members of the Recolight compliance scheme may participate.
Companies can register as Donors, Recipients, and Remanufacturers.
Donors can offer both:
- unused, unsold lighting stock,
- and used but reusable lighting equipment that may be suitable for remanufacturing, including those from CAT A and fit outs.
The Reuse Hub is currently free of charge for Donors, Recipients, and Remanufacturers. It includes a template agreement between both parties, that clearly limits the liability of donors, to de-risk the process.
Why do we need a Reuse Hub?
“The reuse of reconditioned light fittings is starting to become mainstream. Major commercial real estate developers, their architects and design teams are beginning to either reuse luminaires from a retrofit project itself and, in an increasing number of cases, use luminaires from a completely different building.”
“This imaginative new thinking is leading to new business models and the growth of a vibrant remanufacturing sector in the lighting industry. Remanufacturers take used lights, upgrade them to the latest efficient LEDs and wireless controls and then – crucially – warranty them.”
Ray Molony, Editor, Circular Lighting Report
Read what Reuse Hub registered users have to say
“EGG Lighting started our remanufacturing service to address the shocking levels of displaced fittings (around 40,000t of lighting equipment a year!) in the UK lighting industry. We quickly found that many of these fittings are high quality and in good physical condition, but that identifying displaced fittings and organising the logistics can be a time consuming and challenging endeavour.
Recolight’s Reuse Hub turns that challenge into an opportunity and makes it easy for end users to register unwanted fittings, and for remanufacturers to respond to their needs. We will be using the Reuse Hub to help find unwanted fittings we can Remanufacture and to help end users who don’t want to see their fittings go to waste.”
In the UK we have a world-leading and quickly developing luminaire remanufacturing sector, and with initiatives like Recolight’s Reuse Hub, we can shift the conversation from ‘single use’ and recycling as default, to reuse and remanufacturing whenever possible.
The Reuse Hub makes it easy for end users to register unwanted fittings and for remanufacturers to enquire and organise collection – completing that essential link in the circular economy. “
“Its really important to recycle and reuse as much as possible. As an industry we don’t do it enough. We reuse most of the packaging we are sent from our suppliers, and we use packaging that actually comes from waste again and again. This has lead us to winning Build Back Better Green awards for two years running for our super low carbon projects where not just lighting but controls and waste management has been at the forefront.
With regards to the Reuse Hub, if we can find a good home for some pre loved lighting, be it a commercial or a purely social setting then that’s less waste and it will save energy at the same time.
Silent Design is moving away from selling new light fittings and focus on the refurb and retrofit market as this is the only way to truly benefit the environment.“
“Llumarlite have rescued Hi-Bay LED luminaires, saving them from recycling. The Reuse Hub is the ideal way to find end users needing lights for their applications.
We will also be using the Reuse hub to search for luminaires that Llumarlite can repair, remanufacture, re-purpose, or reuse on other projects.
Llumarlite have lighting design, installation, and project management skills to install repurposed or remanufactured options.
We see this as an alternative option to making new luminaires for appropriate applications or projects.”
Recycling is not always the best solution
At Recolight, we recycle, but as we move towards a Circular Economy model, recycling is not always the best solution. Recolight is under a legal obligation to prioritise reuse over recycling, so we need to facilitate and encourage reuse.
We hope the Reuse Hub will help avoid unnecessary recycling and ensure retention of more embedded carbon.
