Right to repair. Work in progress in Europe
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The European Commission is working on the right to redress. If we want to concretely apply the circular economy and have more sustainable products, we need to focus on the repair and reuse of goods. Especially when it comes to electronic products and appliances.
The European initiative on repair and reuse
The European Commission launched an initiative that "promotes a more sustainable use of goods throughout their life cycle. It will encourage consumers to make more sustainable choices by providing incentives and tools to use goods for a longer period, including by repairing defective products». (1)
The intent it is to encourage manufacturers to design products that last longer (against the phenomena of planned obsolescence) and are easily repairable. Essential prerequisites for increasing sustainable consumption, as well as the purchase of second-hand products, reducing the negative impact on the environment and contributing to the circular economy.
The public consultation, opened on 11.1.22, will last until 5.4.22.
Sustainable vs unsustainable consumption
One of the big issues environmental consumption of unsustainable consumption is the production of an increasing amount of waste. The new consumer agenda and the EU's circular economy action plan therefore aim to promote repair and encourage the transition to more sustainable products. The European Parliament itself called on the Commission to facilitate sustainable choices for consumers and businesses and to promote the right to redress. And the Council of the European Union (22.2.21) welcomed the initiative on the 'right to repair' with the aim of promoting more systematic repairs, even beyond the liability period (the legal guarantee of conformity, two years), at a reasonable cost. (2)
The initiative of the European Commission will bring in the third quarter of 2022 to a legislative proposal on the right to reparation, as also indicated in the letter of intent sent by the European Commission to the Parliament in September 2021, with the initiatives that Brussels will propose over the course of the year.
The life cycle of products
How do you explain the Commission in its call for contributions for an impact assessment of the initiative, companies have a limited economic interest in providing more environmentally sustainable and longer lasting goods. Consumers can make sustainable choices but what has an impact is also the duration of use of the products, their life cycle.
'Currently many products are not used for their entire potential life cycle and become waste before its end. Studies show that the lifespan of many products has been declining in recent years; consumers can play an important role in reversing this trend '.
Customers, they are not incentivized to buy used or refurbished goods. One of the phenomena is there for all to see in everyday life: the high cost of spare parts or repairs.
'Beyond the directive, when consumers cannot benefit from the remedies provided by the legal liability period (for example because the defect was caused by themselves or the legal liability period has expired), they often face significant difficulties in repairing the goods, which which often leads them to throw them away prematurely (for example because they are dissuaded from repair costs, sometimes close to or even higher than the price of a new product). The often adverse attitude of consumers towards second-hand or reconditioned goods also causes a reduction in the life span of the goods, with negative repercussions on the environment '.
Repairing is better than buying back
Electronic waste (WEEE) is the group of waste that increases the most in the world with a strong impact on the environment, explains the campaign Right to repair. Only 15-20% is recycled. 53 million tons of electronic waste are produced annually, the equivalent of the weight of 350 cruise ships.
«Electronic products have a high environmental impact. It takes valuable raw materials and considerable amounts of energy to produce them. When these products are disposed of, all the embodied energy is lost, as are many of the materials - only a small part can actually be recovered through recycling. That's why extending the life of electrical and electronic products through repair is the most efficient way to reduce their overall environmental impact». (3)
Does extending the life of products make sense?
Some studies show that only in exceptional cases is the replacement of products less harmful to the environment than repairs. Consumers want products that last longer and can be repaired (Coolproducts dossier. (4).
According to a Eurobarometer report of 2019 on Europeans' attitudes towards waste management and resource efficiency, 77% of EU citizens would have their assets repaired rather than buy new ones. But ultimately he has to replace or discard them because he is discouraged by the cost of repairs and the level of service provided.
The causes the basis of the reduced life of the products may be different, they may relate to reasons induced by the with (eg peripherals becoming obsolete), poor electronics, 'high cost of repair', or 'trends and a desire for new features'. Added to this is the lack of information on the lifespan of products and their repairability.
Il Coolproducts dossier
Il Coolproducts dossier analyzed four product groups: washing machines, laptops, vacuum cleaners and smartphone. From the point of view of global warming, does it make sense to extend the life of products? Yes, the investigation ends. For all four product groups analyzed, the implications of extending the life cycle to today 'normal' rather than replacing it with new products were examined (Normal life cycle values are 11 years for washing machines; 4 -5 years for laptops; 5-8 years for vacuum cleaners; 3 years for smartphone).
'Our analysis shows that, under normal circumstances, it always makes sense to extend the life of our products beyond their typical life. From a global warming point of view, washing machines are expected to last for 25-40 years to offset the greenhouse gas emissions that come from manufacturing, distribution and disposal; vacuum cleaners aged 18 to 48; notebooks and smartphones should be kept for as long as possible, because not only the replacement of old devices consumes new resources, but also the new generations consume more energy than the previous ones'.
If it is difficult imagining a decades-long life cycle does not mean that it is impossible to act. Let's take it smartphone, produced by the many implications also linked to lifestyle and the desire to exhibit the latest model. The production of smartphone has the greatest impact on the climate because the production of components is at a high density of material and energy. The expected life cycle of one smartphone is (only) three years old. Extend the life cycle of all smartphone in Europe for just one year it would save 2,1 Mt CO2 per year by 2030, equivalent to taking more than one million cars off the road.
Sabrina Bergamini
Note
(1) Sustainable consumption of goods - promoting repair and reuse https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/13150-Consumo-sostenibile-di-beni-promuovere-la-riparazione-e-il-riutilizzo_it
(2) Conclusions of the Council of the European Union of 22 February 2021 on the new Consumer Agenda. Points 10 and 11 should be emphasized. https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-6364-2021-INIT/it/pdf
At point 10 he writes "UNDERLINES the need to reduce the ecological footprint of consumers by promoting extended lifespan and durability of products, proper maintenance, repairability and recycling, while preventing premature obsolescence, including with respect to software; WELCOMES the Commission's intention to address these issues in the next relevant legislative proposals".
In point 11, "RECOGNIZES the role of consumers in new business models that could optimize the efficiency and sustainability of goods and services, such as the sharing, leasing or remanufacturing of products, or their provision as a service or as second-hand products, online with the objectives of a circular economy; WELCOMES the intention of the Commission to strengthen the "right to repair", so as to allow a more systematic and easier repair of goods, even beyond the warranty period, at an acceptable cost and within a reasonable timeframe for consumers".
(3) Campaign Right to Repair. https://repair.eu/it/
(4) Coolproducts don't cost the Earth, dossier. https://eeb.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Coolproducts-report.pdf
