Repair, don’t replace: EU takes aim at throwaway culture

The answer is, of course, the huge amount of waste this creates. The European Commission reports that the EU generates approximately 35 million tonnes of waste and consumes 30 million tonnes of resources every year. 

In fact, the UK holds the dubious honour of being
the world’s second-highest producer of electrical waste, producing 24kg per person every year. Who said we were under-achievers?! 

This isn’t from a lack of willing or awareness on the consumer’s part, either. In fact, 77 percent of EU consumers would rather repair their goods than buy
new ones, according to a 2020 Eurobarometer survey. However, repairing often proves to be difficult – if not impossible – thanks to extortionate costs, as well as lack of access to spare parts and documentation. 

Perhaps the biggest obstacle to sustainability, however, lies in the way in
which products are designed in the first place.
Obsolescence is rife in the consumer goods industry: electronic products, in particular, are purposely designed to fail after a certain period of time, or amount of use, to encourage users to buy a new model. On top of
that, tech giants, such as Apple, adopt a policy of ‘parts pairing’ which prohibits the use of third-party replacement parts. 

Recognising this problem, the EU Parliament has now officially agreed upon new legislation aimed at incentivising individuals to repair, rather than replace, goods.

Read the full article in DPA's May 2024 issue