Repair and restore
Where "Right-to-Repair" laws are being implemented, the culture surrounding consumerism is shifting.
Daily photos of massive rubble from Gaza and Ukraine are disturbing for those who value human life, and for people like me with a “no waste” ethic in our bones. So much needless destruction. In the context of global concern about planet earth, it seems incredulous that humans cannot mobilise enough influence to stop such massive, senseless and preventable destruction at this point in the history of the world. A feeling of powerlessness and hopelessness sets in when I see the images on screens.
Out for a bike ride to ward off despair this summer, I spotted a discarded table on a curb. The surface was badly marred, but the wood showed potential. Maybe it could serve as the plant table I need. Scraping, repairing and refinishing it took time and muscle power. “Why do such hard work at your age?” my friend asked. Somehow, rescuing and restoring one item to a place of beauty gave me joy, even though it will do nothing about the massive waste of war that causes me to despair about human kind.
Reduce and re-use
Connecting small scale acts of reuse and waste reduction with the big systemic changes that are needed to care for our world remains a challenge. Sometimes, the unintended consequences of options for re-use are perverse. The ease of sending clothes and gadgets to a local thrift shop, for example, can reduce feelings of guilt and encourage greater consumption of quick fashions or appliance upgrades that are not essential. I need to remind myself that ‘reduce’ comes before ‘reuse,’ even when we are told that increased consumption creates jobs. Jobs in reduction strategies could replace jobs associated with planned obsolescence in our economy.
Right to repair
Consumers who advocate for no waste are a critical part of systemic change. Recently I insisted that Black and Decker send me a replacement washer instead of buying a new blender. It was one small example of the larger advocacy for “Right to Repair” legislation that will require companies to make equipment that can be repaired, supply the parts to do so, and encourage a rebirth of repair businesses. In the 2024 budget, the federal government launched consultations for legislation to foster repair in home appliances and electronics, two sectors where planned obsolescence has been the dominant ethic. Where “Right-to-Repair” laws are being implemented, they are shifting the culture and creating jobs that can be meaningful as we work together to conserve resources and reduce waste.
Perhaps something like a “right to repair” also needs to be part of international relations to turn the corner on the use of destructive military forces to create massive rubble as the way to settle disputes.
It think this sentence is essential to our economic projections: ” Jobs in reduction strategies could replace jobs associated with planned obsolescence in our economy.” The insistence on novelty, more complexity, and un-repairable (throw-away) is obscene (in my way use of the word). Kudos to you for giving B & D your insistent communications.
It don’t know who should write about it, but the decrease in part-time, back-shed repair businesses is a very serious thing. A few years ago, Carl’s Saw Sharpening Shop in Smithers closed down. Carl had a complete metal shop for repairing all sorts of things, not just saws. No one has bought the business. Similarly, we have trouble getting good service for small-engine repairs. For a few years, B.V. Home Centre ‘gave’ employee Sid Ezinga a back corner of the retail store where he took apart, soldered things, repaired electric fence testers, drills, etc. It was absolutely wonderful. Sid retired and the ‘corner’ is gone.