The Pothole Paradox

Potholes are getting worse across the UK. More rain, more freeze–thaw, more wear and tear. Roads give way faster. Drivers deal with the cost and councils with the complaints.

But there’s another side. Damage keeps people in work. Tyres, wheels, body panels, suspension all keep the supply chain moving. Workshops are busy. Parts flow. Tax gets paid.

The irony is that the same industry leading the way on circularity (reuse, repair, remanufacturing) also depends on that very cycle of damage and renewal. It's not hypocrisy, just how demand works right now.

That’s the tension. Consumption and circularity running side by side.

So the real question is how the balance shifts.

• Could road contracts reward durability instead of patching volume?

• Could longer‑life, lower‑carbon materials become the real differentiator?

• Could insurers incentivise reuse and remanufacture?

Those changes don’t erase the “damage economy,” but they can reshape where value comes from. The goal isn’t to stop fixing what breaks, it’s to build in ways that mean it breaks less often.

From damage to durability. Throughput to resilience. Not an easy shift but a necessary one.