ST201903

The right to repair

Y

ourgranwasright:theydon’t

make them like they used to.

Takethehumblewashing

machine.Attheturnofthe

century, these once-dependable white

goodswouldtypicallylaunderyour

clothesforadecadebeforegivingupthe

ghost.Theynowneedtobereplaced

every seven years, on average, according

to research by Green Alliance, a

UK-based charity.

This is a raw deal for consumers

andtheplanetalike.TheGlobal

E-waste Statistics Partnership says

consumersthrewout44.7mtonnesof

electronic products in 2016, just 20%

of which was recycled.

Butthingsaresettochangethanksto

newEUlegislation(underway,butyet

to be published), which will require

manufacturers of washing machines,

dishwashers, TVs, lights and fridges to

maketheirproductseasiertorepair.

From 2021, appliances of these

types that are sold in Europe must

be designed so that key components

canbereplacedwithcommonly

availabletools.Spareswillalsohave

tobemadeavailabletoprofessional

repairers for at least seven years

after the last unit is sold.

“Thisisahistoricmoment,”saysUgo

Vallauri,co-founderoftheRestart

Project,aUKsocialenterprisethat

teachespeoplehowtorepairbroken

electronics. “Not only does this provide

a precedent for additional product

categories to be included in future, but

it’s likely other regions will now be

inspired to enact similar legislation.”

The new legislation is an extension of

the Ecodesign Directive, which forced

manufacturerstoimprovetheenergy

efficiency of products such as boilers,

lightsandtelevisions.TheUK

government supported the directive

andhasclaimeditwilladopt“similar

measures” post-Brexit.

MANUFACTURERS WILL SOON BE REQUIRED BY

LAW TO MAKE CERTAIN GOODS EASIER TO MEND:

PROGRESS FOR CONSUMERS AND THE ENVIRONMENT

ByGAVIN HAINES

GOOD THINGS

POSITIVE NEWS* FROM AROUND THE WORLD

The art of

electronic repair –

being taught at the

Restart Project

DRINK-

DRIVING’S

DIVE

“Smoking will be

eradicated in England

by 2030 as 1,000 people

quit every day” —

Public Health England

SMOKE SIGNALS

1970s: over 50% of men and

over 40% of women in the UK

smoked. Today: fewer than

one in fiveadults smoke

Rates have fallen

sharply, by 25%,

even in the past

five years

Car use in the UK

was 20 times

higher in 2016

compared with

1949 but the

risk of being

injured or

killed fell almost

everyyearfrom

1949, from 165

deaths for every

1bn miles driven,

to only 5.4 such

deaths in 2015

A2014study

showed that 91%

of the UK public

believeitis

unacceptable to

drink and drive

PHOTOGRAPHY: MARK PHILIPS

LIVING (^) | GAZETTE