“It costs more to repair it than to buy a new one.” How many times have we heard this phrase or have we said it ourselves? Obviously I’m referring to consumer goods, usually electronicfor which the warranty period has expired.
A phenomenon, that of their defects after a certain period of use, which is sometimes even inherent in the product itself, like a virus. Is called planned obsolescence, which I have already dealt with in the past. It was 2017 and there were three legislative proposals in Parliament to combat the phenomenon.
We are in 2024 and none have been completed. Honorable people rarely do anything for the common good, they more easily defend the economy, whatever it may be. Now a little news comes from European Parliament, which approved a regulation entitled “Common rules that promote the repair of goods”, which goes in the direction of combating the phenomenon of purchasing a new product in the face of its repairability. According to the legislation (which still requires passage through the Council and then there will be two years for transposition) the purchaser of an electronic product or a household appliance will have the right to repair, in the event of a fault, beyond the warranty period to a “reasonable” cost. Furthermore, in the case of repairs, you will also be entitled to a one-year warranty on the repair. Within the maximum thirty days for the repair, you will also be entitled to a replacement product.
With the right to repair, the ban on using components created independently or with 3D printing also falls. And the official manufacturers will not be able to refuse to make further repairs on that device just because it has been “manipulated” by third parties. New life for refurbished: in the event of impossibility of repair, the consumer must be able to choose a refurbished product as an alternative to a new one.
In short, something in the wake of the green policy that the EU has verbally undertaken is being done. Even if the directive will not put an end to the phenomenon of planned obsolescence, but only to its consequences. And it will still be necessary to understand how the cost term will be interpreted reasonable. To understand how much we, especially in the West, influence the health of the planet with our electronic waste, I recommend reading International on the topic, and let’s keep one name in mind: Agbogbloshie.
