Good! We buy the products, they become our property. And given how pathetic the lifespan is of many products, often failing just after the warranty, they should be repairable by ourselves and all spares available.

Printers are the worst, I heard that there's a chip included that counts the number of prints you make and deactivates the printer when you reach a number the manufacturer decides is enough.

Hopefully the amount of waste will be reduced.

BBC News - 'Right to repair' law to come in this summer

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56340077

Good luck taking overseas company`s too court.

Edited March 11, 20215 yr by G-RFRY

It's Europe too I believe. Plus a number of US states already have the legislation in place.

I would imagine foreign manufacturers would have to comply before the products are allowed to be imported.

What I'm not sure of is if this legislation goes far enough. If its just "spares will be available and product can be repaired by a proffesional" or, if we can literally repair products ourselves.

 

Yeah, it looks like they have allowed manufacturers to retain control over some products and insist they are repaired by proffesionals.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-46797396

Not sure how that's enforceable to be honest. We have no idea what people are "fixing" behind closed doors but I guess they would restrict the parts so they are only available for pro repairers. 

Edited March 11, 20215 yr by martin-w

Jeff Bezos became a zillionaire by encouraging folks to send stuff back that didn't work satisfactorily.

Meanwhile down at the local brick and morter establishment:

 

Edited March 11, 20215 yr by Fielder

'Appliances such as fridges, washing machines and TVs should last longer and be cheaper to run under new rules.'

This may be true, but they forget to mention that these appliances will probably now also end up being vastly more expensive as a result of this law; manufacturers will have to go longer between new sales of their products, and they'll also have the additional expense of providing a spares network infrastructure too.

They've got to build all that production expense into the price. So the idea that we're heading for some kind of hardware utopia where we're still gonna be using grandma's old washing machine 25 years later and saving the environment whilst we're at it, is laughable.

'Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said: "Our plans to tighten product standards will ensure more electrical goods can be fixed rather than thrown on the scrap heap - putting more money back in the pockets of consumers whilst protecting the environment.'

In other news, every day will be the first day of spring and Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng - who is noted for insulting a large percentage of the population who voted for him, by saying: 'Once they enter the workplace, the British are among the worst idlers in the world' - is still an over-privileged twonk who couldn't find his a*se with both hands.

 

Kwasi Kwarteng is a politician and as such his pronouncements can be disregarded. Having said that, after a career as a British working man, I can say that in my experience there are some thoroughly idle British workers and I am sure that will be the case for every nationality on the planet.

As to the subject of the topic, one of the reasons why people dispose of broken household appliances is that the alarming cost of repair is often near to the cost of replacement. The thinking, quite rightly, is "why pay for a repair and still have a years old product, if for a few money units more, I could have a new one". This is exacerbated by the general decline in quality of the new goods. Brands such as Bosch and AEG, previously know for their genuine quality and longevity are now no more than labels on a very ordinary product built to the same low standard as the no-name items. Once again, the symptoms are being addressed but the cause is not, so very little is likely to change.

15 minutes ago, Chock said:

every day will be the first day of spring and Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng - who is noted for insulting a large percentage of the population who voted for him, by saying: 'Once they enter the workplace, the British are among the worst idlers in the world' - is still an over-privileged twonk who couldn't find his a*se with both hands.

Chock for Prime Minister! 🤣

25 minutes ago, Chock said:

'Appliances such as fridges, washing machines and TVs should last longer and be cheaper to run under new rules.'

This may be true, but they forget to mention that these appliances will probably now also end up being vastly more expensive as a result of this law; manufacturers will have to go longer between new sales of their products, and they'll also have the additional expense of providing a spares network infrastructure too.

They've got to build all that production expense into the price. So the idea that we're heading for some kind of hardware utopia where we're still gonna be using grandma's old washing machine 25 years later and saving the environment whilst we're at it, is laughable.

 

 

 

Yeah that's a really good point. If they cant sell you a new washing machine every two years, instead of charging you 300 quid they'll charge you 600 quid. 

13 minutes ago, Reader said:

 

As to the subject of the topic, one of the reasons why people dispose of broken household appliances is that the alarming cost of repair is often near to the cost of replacement. 

 

Another good point. While ago I checked out the repair of a washing machine.  Pointless, almost as cheap to buy new. I could have obtained the spare part of course and repaired it myself but with dodgy knees and a dodgy back didn't fancy it. For those who don't have the technical skill to repair themselves, that too isn't an option. 

All this stuff started way back when the lightbulb was invented. Light bulbs were lasting for years. The manufacturers recognised that, so built a lifespan into the product, so that consumers would have to keep buying the bulbs and thus, the company makes more profit. The same philosophy we now see in almost everything we buy.

Not sustainable. There are mountains of electronic waste piling up on tropical islands with the locals sifting through it for any old word not allowed they can sell. There problem not ours. Plus of course, we are running out of the raw materials to keep making this stuff.

I'm just as guilty. I have a Samsung S10 Plus, and yes, you guessed it, I'm planning to replace it with the new S21 Ultra. 

 

1 hour ago, Chock said:

This may be true, but they forget to mention that these appliances will probably now also end up being vastly more expensive as a result of this law; manufacturers will have to go longer between new sales of their products, and they'll also have the additional expense of providing a spares network infrastructure too.

They've got to build all that production expense into the price. So the idea that we're heading for some kind of hardware utopia where we're still gonna be using grandma's old washing machine 25 years later and saving the environment whilst we're at it, is laughable.

 

1 hour ago, martin-w said:

Yeah that's a really good point. If they cant sell you a new washing machine every two years, instead of charging you 300 quid they'll charge you 600 quid. 

I'm having to throw away a perfectly working electric razor because it's an 'old model' and replacement blades are no longer available.

Yes, the purchase price of electric goods will go up to offset the longer lifespans, but at least it will partly address the 'throw away culture' that has been created. Lots of retailers (in the UK at least) offer very good financing terms for expensive items.

At my local recycling centre at the weekend, I was left wondering how many of the huge container full of newer looking TVs were: a) actually broken and not just replaced by the latest shiny model at home, and b) had broken well before their time due to planned obsolescence.

We've heard "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" for decades now. But the emphasis on 'recycle' rather than 'reduce' and 'reuse' has created a false sense of virtue, despite recycling being  the least efficient element of the three.

Any effort in addressing the situation should be welcomed, no matter the feelings one may have towards the source of the initiative.

2 hours ago, martin-w said:

It's Europe too I believe. Plus a number of US states already have the legislation in place.

I would imagine foreign manufacturers would have to comply before the products are allowed to be imported.

What I'm not sure of is if this legislation goes far enough. If its just "spares will be available and product can be repaired by a proffesional" or, if we can literally repair products ourselves.

 

Tell that to Amazon they have fallen foul of the UK trading standards a few times with goods from China that don`t meet the UK British Standard. Amazon sell product from all over the world but are just a shop window you do not buy in the UK the transaction takes place offshore. The same with FB who are at logger heads with the EU.

Reminds me of the HP printer I had. Just purchased new ink cartridges (all colours) and the printer no longer worked. After several attempts to contact HP was informed that the "problem" related to the printer head (remember when the printer head was actually on the cartridge) and could not be repaired and that the printer was no longer in warranty. This meant I had an expensive paperweight costing €80 (the ink) and no printer. The cartridges would only work in that particular model too. In the end I had to purchase a new printer of the same model (costing €60 !!). Always used the orignal cartridges (they do have a chip) and every time I renew them am offered a reward from HP for using their brand. No intention of doing that though, hopefully when the printer head on this one quits it will be before I purchase new ones. It's just cheaper to buy a new printer every time you run out of ink !!

23 minutes ago, jdwgraf said:

Reminds me of the HP printer I had. Just purchased new ink cartridges (all colours) and the printer no longer worked. After several attempts to contact HP was informed that the "problem" related to the printer head (remember when the printer head was actually on the cartridge) and could not be repaired and that the printer was no longer in warranty. This meant I had an expensive paperweight costing €80 (the ink) and no printer. The cartridges would only work in that particular model too. In the end I had to purchase a new printer of the same model (costing €60 !!). Always used the orignal cartridges (they do have a chip) and every time I renew them am offered a reward from HP for using their brand. No intention of doing that though, hopefully when the printer head on this one quits it will be before I purchase new ones. It's just cheaper to buy a new printer every time you run out of ink !!

 

To be honest, ink jet printers are nothing but trouble. I got fed up with them. If you don't use them often the heads get jammed up with ink and won't clean. Plus the cartridges are expensive.

I ended up buying a HP monochrome laser printer. More expensive initially, but cost per page is minimal and no heads to get clogged. 

Our laundry pair washer and dryer are  old Maytags, still run as new, made back when their plant was in Des Moines,  before the Clintons and congress passed NAFTA. Maytag management, not being crazy, moved to Mexico where labor was 1/3 per hour wages.

Their workers used to be lifetime job oriented and dedicated loyal company people who retired with Maytag retirement income, and made a high quality product. There were cash employee incentives for ideas to make their appliances more rugged. Their TV commercials were the lonely Maytag Repair Man. People believed because it was true. Maytag these days is just another appliance  brand, no longer rate high above other brands on Consumer Reports repair statistics every year, like they used to years ago.