Re-using used goods and products offers numerous economic, ecological and social potentials. Nevertheless, current waste management practices treat re-use still as a secondary priority and not in the sense of a circular economy. This is due, among other things, to the fact that both attractive and easily accessible offers and a corresponding demand for used goods are largely lacking.

The State of Berlin has already committed itself to the guiding principle of "Zero Waste" during the legislative term 2016–2021 in order to transform its waste management towards a circular economy. Re-using goods takes centre stage in this transformation. A central approach to this is the reuse of used goods. Instead of disposing of them at the end of the first phase of use, they are to be passed on via various paths for subsequent use in further phases of use. This does not only help to avoid waste, but also to achieve considerable resource savings and thus to positively impact the climate.

In the context of the political goal of strengthening the reuse of used goods, the project aimed at supporting and executing re-use measures in Berlin in order to foster structures and actors in Berlin that bring the used goods market out of its niche. To do so, the project drew on the practical experience of initial pilot tests in 2018, networking activities since 2019 and the opening of the Re-Use Superstore in 2020.

Ecologic Institute supported the project for the Berlin Senate Administration by designing and conducting three virtual expert dialogues.