Don't let mountains of rubbish arise in the first place: The EU Parliament insists on more durable products – which can also be repaired.
The battery of the not so old cell phone can no longer be charged? Usually repairs are impossible or so expensive that a new purchase is more worthwhile. And so almost 85 percent of all mobile phone devices in Europe end up on the trash – and only 15 percent are recycled.
An untenable situation, as the EU Parliament finds. It wants to counter the growing mountains of garbage from household and electronic equipment with the “right to repair”.
In concrete terms, this would mean: Manufacturers must design their products in such a way that they can basically be repaired and thus can be used for longer.
“Instead of constantly mining new resources, we have to give the impetus to switch to the longevity of the products,” demands the SPÖ delegation head in the EU Parliament, Andreas Schieder. “We have to establish a culture of recycling.”
Only 12 percent of the raw materials used are currently being returned to the economic cycle.
“With common sense”
With his initiative proposal, which the EU Parliament will pass in Brussels this week, the MEPs are urging the EU Commission to get serious about the laws for longer product life and the “right to repair”.
Growing mountains of electronic waste
Whereby Barbara Thaler, internal market spokeswoman for the ÖVP in the European Parliament, points out: “We need an internal market with common sense.” Which means something like: The path to more sustainable business should not lead to new bans and quotas, but must above all offer incentives.
More spare parts
An essential requirement for the “right to repair” is that considerably more spare parts have to be produced. The EU is planning to introduce minimum periods for storing spare parts depending on the device type and a maximum delivery time.
Claudia Gamon, Neos MEP, also insists that this “fundamentally great idea of the right to repair should not lead to more bureaucracy”. In addition, clear guidelines are needed for the individual industries.
Against the “planned obsolescence”
Furthermore, the EU Parliament is also calling for measures to be taken against “planned obsolescence”, ie the deliberately shortened service life of products by manufacturers. For example, the warranty for a smartphone could be adapted to its expected service life.
However, massive resistance is to be expected from the producers: they would be responsible for the entire life cycle of a product.
A first, but big step towards more repairs will take place in January: An EU directive will come into force in 2021, according to which manufacturers of entertainment electronics and household appliances must deliver products with a longer service life and easier repair than before.
