FIX IT OR TOSS IT?
The right to repair movement is growing
The three Rs used to be ‘reading, ‘riting and ‘rithmetic — now the mantra is reduce, reuse and recyle. Add “repair” and you’ve got the current and future refrain.
Canadians threw out more than 10 million tonnes of residential garbage in 2016, according to the most recent tally by Statscan. Almost 344,000 tonnes of household trash ended up in Saskatchewan landfills – and an unknown share of all that garbage is household appliances, like fridges and stoves.
Today’s trends toward smart technology have even invaded our kitchens and laundry rooms, with new generations of home appliances that are a far cry from the days when it was possible to make some repairs at home.
So, what about that ancient, analog range crouching in your kitchen, the one missing the storage drawer and with burners featuring the crust from innumerable meals? Is it ready for its final trip to the dump, or can it be repaired or even recycled? At the other end of the scale, homeowners spending thousands of dollars on the new convection/induction ovens, smart ranges and other premium appliances will likely prefer to have those units repaired rather than forking out significant dollars for replacements.
These days, everything from appliances to tractors have electronic components that often cannot be repaired. A “Right to Repair” campaign has sprung up in in response. Last October, the campaign won a major victory when the Library of Congress and the U.S. Copyright Office modified rules to allow consumers to hack into embedded software as needed for repair and maintenance. But, that’s as far as it’s gotten thus far – and that push is mainly geared toward electronics like smart phones, hundreds of thousands of which are thrown out each year, or every time one of the major suppliers offers their newest versions. A report commissioned by the United Nations states that 50 million tonnes of electronic and electrical waste is generated worldwide each year, and only 20 per cent is formally recycled.*
Here in Canada, a Right to Repair private member’s bill in Ontario was shot down; a similar private members’ bill currently before the Quebec legislature will likely meet the same fate. Openmedia, a not-for-profit organization, has launched a petition calling on Ottawa to bring in laws to give consumers more opportunities to repair their electronic gadgets, as well as their household appliances. Launched last spring, the petition has amassed more than 14,000 signatures, and Openmedia aims to take the issue to the doorsteps during the upcoming federal election.
“It’s a very popular idea, and the only reason we’re not seeing it is because of the lobbying being done by the big manufacturers to prevent right to repair legislation going through. We’re seeing that mostly in the U.S. where there have been dozens of bills proposed and shot down by advocacy by industry,” said Rodrigo Samayoa, a digital campaigner with the organization.
Samayoa says there is a real need for consumers to be able to repair appliances rather than toss them. While Openmedia’s main push has been in the area of electronics like cell phones that often end up in landfills, Samayoa says the same concerns apply to household appliances. “We know that the issues that prevent electronic devices from being repaired are the same issues that are found in appliances, farm equipment, industrial machinery and other industries,” he said. “While it may not be as bad to throw a phone away every two years, it becomes much worse when you’re looking at throwing away a refrigerator every two to five years instead of 10 to 20 years.”
The fact that products can’t be repaired is often built right in, said Samayoa. “Increasingly companies are actively moving to restrict the repair services for products, either by using design features that make it difficult if not impossible to repair, or by restricting the sale on parts so that people have to go to the original manufacturer for those repairs.” Samayoa says it all boils down to ownership. “Because right now, if you’re not able to repair a product because of the restrictions the manufacturer has against it, you don’t really own that product; it’s essentially the manufacturer that owns it,” he said. “When you look at electronic devices that have terms of service, we’re really losing ownership of those things when we can’t repair them; we have to replace them frequently.”
Openmedia is hoping the issue is brought to the fore during the upcoming federal election campaign. A poll commissioned by the organization found that 75 per cent of Canadians would support right to repair legislation. It also found that the support cuts across political party lines with 79 per cent of people identifying as Liberals, 76 per cent of New Democrats and 67 per cent of Conservatives would support legislation that will force companies to make repair information and parts available to consumers so they can make the repairs themselves or go to an independent repair shop to do those repairs.**
Regardless of who wins the election, Samayoa says the newly elected government will soon have the right to repair issue placed in front of it. “We hope it will be addressed during the election and, when the next government takes over, whether it’s the same party or another one, it will push legislation through Parliament.” Whether that comes to pass or not, consumers can start adding repair to the “reduce, reuse and recycle” slogan to keep that range at home and not in the landfill.