‘Rage rooms’ are on rise but climate takes the hit

Smash-it-up places, sometimes known as “rage rooms” (as featured recently in the Herald) are on the rise. For the uninitiated, a rage room is basically what it says on the tin. It’s a place where you can pay some money, put some protective gear on and smash things, often with a metal bar or bat. What do you smash? Well, that’s where my rage comes in.

On offer for destruction are a variety of household items. As reported in the Herald, plates, bottles and glassware are standard, but for a bigger “thrill”, electronic waste, (or “e-waste”) is available. Flat-screen TVS, computers and printers can be provided for customers to mindlessly smash away at.

Recently on Wellington’s waterfront, (ironically right beside the nation’s biggest conservator of items, Te

Papa), a rage space was used to promote a New Zealand fintech company. “De-stress with [company name]” it said. “Never think about tax again.” There, in a large shipping container with one side replaced with perspex, members of the public could come and smash stuff. This time, even a dishwasher was on offer for destruction.

At Sustainability Trust, we’re saddened to see the increase in smash-up type events and businesses being promoted around the motu.

We know they’re on the rise overseas too, with many new enterprises starting in Australia and further afield.

Why do smash-it places break our hearts? Every day at the trust, we work hard to ensure these very items are disposed of thoughtfully. We collect tonnes of e-waste annually. What we can’t refurbish and resell ourselves, we send to our recycling partners for responsible recycling and disposal. Our Repaired programmes teach hundreds of people every year about the value of fixing things and continuing to use them.

The business profiled in the Herald says it sources its materials from electronic repair shops and op-shops, taking things that “were on their way to the tip anyway”. The waterfront fintech company that recently offered punters the chance to smash stuff told my staff everything would be sorted and recycled afterwards.

So, what’s the problem?

There is no standard practice operators need to follow. Customers won’t know what is happening to the waste unless they seek said information out.

And the harsh reality is recycling can only get us so far on the path to a low-carbon future. The real solution to transforming our highconsumption-based economy lies in making less in the first place.

There isn’t always an obvious connection between waste and climate change; globally, the waste sector only contributes 3 per cent to greenhouse gas emissions, 5 per cent in New Zealand. This is despite the fact the breakdown of waste in landfills produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

But, for every item bought by us (the consumer) that is eventually disposed of in landfill, resources — like oil — have to be extracted (or grown), transported, processed, transported again, manufactured, transported again and sold, before they are even used.

Research has shown 45 per cent of all emissions can’t be addressed through energy efficiency or switching to renewable energy. Consumer purchasing decisions are the ultimate driver of carbon emissions in an economy. So, the less we waste, the less we consume and the more we do to reduce our own carbon footprint.

Our planet is drowning in e-waste. A recent report from the UN stated that globally, a massive 62 billion kilograms of electronic waste was generated in 2022. That number is projected to rise to 82 billion kilograms in 2030! What we do with e-waste matters. But more than that, what we do to create the need for more stuff (that ultimately becomes unwanted) is vital in how we might turn around this climate mess we’re in.

The act of enabling people to break resources deemed to be of little or no value anymore only reinforces a throw-away culture that is killing our planet. These rooms are a symptom of our extractive culture that Kate Raworth so eloquently wrote about in her book, Donut Economics. Our “take, make, use, dispose, pollute” approach to the Earth’s precious resources serves no one and could ultimately spell the end for our way of life as we know it.

A circular economy approach where we make, use, reuse, remake and ultimately recycle is so vital as we face the increasing challenges of climate change. This approach demands we behave in a manner diametrically opposite to the ethos of rage rooms, of thoughtlessly smashing stuff. It requires us to think about our consumption, about what we need to buy and what we need to preserve for longer use.

Our suggestion at the Sustainability Trust is: buy for durability and repairability in the first place. If you have something that is no longer working or that is not in use, see if it can be repaired. We are just one of many organisations running repair cafes around the country. Otherwise, try selling it, rehoming it, or donating it.

Sharing goods no longer wanted can reduce the need to make more and supports the sharing or circular economy.

And if it’s e-waste, please, please, please dispose of it responsibly. A number of councils, charities and non-profits (including us) accept these items; sometimes with a fee to cover the costs of responsible recycling and recovery or for fundraising.