Reparability : longer-lasting electronics Source : European Parliament. Date : 5 mai 2021.
1. The Growing issue of electronic waste (00:00 to 01:02)
1.1. The proportion of the large appliances that were discarded and failed within the first 5 years of being bought has increased ; ex the proportion of washing machines that broke and were discarded within 5 years rose from 6% to 10%
1.2. Electronics are the fastest-growing source of waste in the E.U. : in 2017 more than 3.5 million tones were collected and only 40% were recycled.
1.2.1. To get further :
1.3. 4 economic advantages of repairing electronic goods
1.3.1. Use fewer resources
1.3.1.1. thanks to the longer use of the electronic devices
1.3.2. Emit less greenhouse gases
1.3.2.1. because factories use a lot of CO2 to produce new goods
1.3.3. Consume less energy
1.3.3.1. as the manufacturing process of new products uses a lot of energy
1.3.4. Produce less waste
1.3.4.1. thus reducing the cost of waste processing
2. The gap between consumers attitudes and consumers behaviors towards repair (01:02 to 01:24)
2.1. Two third of european consumers are well aware that their consumption habits are bad for the environment.
2.2. BUT less then 1/3 of the consumers said they have repaired thir products in the last 6 months.
2.3. Behaviors to repairing phones or washing machines differ from one EU country to another :
2.3.1. In the last 6 months over 50% of consumers in Sweden repaired a product instead of replacing it ...
2.3.2. ...while less than 20% did so in Portugal
3. Repairing electronics : what are the limitations? (01:24 to 02:23)
3.1. 3/4 of the consumers say that they want products to be easier to repair, BUT...
3.2. Options for repairs of products are often limited because of
3.2.1. The high price of repairs
3.2.2. Spare parts are missing
3.2.2.1. Which entails either :
3.2.2.1.1. impossibility to repair
3.2.2.1.2. long repairing time and device unvailability during repairing time
3.2.3. There are no repair shops
3.2.4. Manufacturers can make it difficult to repair our devices
3.2.4.1. There are products wich are designed in a way to fail after a certain time or after a certain amount of use
3.2.4.2. Sometime the components are put in the devices in such a way that means they cannot be taken out and replaced
3.2.4.3. This is what we call obsolescence by design
3.3. How to know if the new phone you just bought is repairable?
3.3.1. Currently EU rules do not require consumers to be informed about the repairability of a product
3.3.2. However there are some ideas that consumers should be informed about this in the future, for instance by labelling products with a repair score.
4. What are the current EU rules on consumer guarantees ? (02:23 to 03:03)
4.1. Product defects
4.1.1. Producer 's fault presumption period
4.1.1.1. At the moment when the video was made (that is may 2021), if your new phone broke down within the first 6 months, it was presumed to be faulty from the start
4.1.1.2. Starting from 2022, this period will be prolonged to 12 month (one year)
4.1.2. Two-year legal guarantee
4.1.2.1. You might need to prove that the seller is responsible for the defect
4.1.2.2. There are plans to figure out whether at the EU level, there should be an extension of the legal guarantee, especially for longer, durable goods
4.1.2.2.1. Objective : the guarantee would better reflect the expected lifetime of the product
5. What is the Circular Electronics Initiative ? (03:03 to 04:02)
5.1. In February 2021, the European Parliament supported the Circular Electronics Initiative, which includes a right to repair.
5.1.1. Objectives :
5.1.1.1. To tackle obsolescence due, for instance, to software updates.
5.1.1.2. The Circular Electronics initiative should also ensure easy access to spare parts
5.1.1.3. The Circular Electronics initiative will clarify how long the spare parts will be available to consumers.
5.2. Already new rules are starting on from March 2021
5.2.1. For washing machines, the spare parts have to be available for 10 years after the last item has been placed on the market.
5.2.2. For fridges : for 7 years