18 Oct International Repair Day. Local Company Joins The Fight
Repair Not Replace, a local repairer from Northants & Milton Keynes will be joining in with International Repair Day, organised by the Open Repair Alliance, an international group of organisations committed to working towards a world where electrical and electronic products are more durable and easier to repair.
It is celebrated every year on the third Saturday of October. Saturday 21st October 2023. Repair Not Replace will be encouraging customers to sign the petition and also take a photo of themselves holding up their mobile phone and share it on social media with the hash tag #repairforeveryone.
E-waste is the fastest growing stream of waste, and the right to repair would give a circular economy and help move us away from a throwaway society.
Mark Jones, owner “The business was started to try and stop the huge amounts of mobile phones, tablets and computers being thrown away instead of being repaired. Over the years some manufacturers have made it harder to repair, blocking parts and even stopping some functions working if the consumer has a repair done, there is no need for it, we need to change the model of just buying new and start to demand that we want things that can be repaired by all.”
International Repair Day is the day when people from across Europe come together to demand legislation to make manufacturers make technology like mobile phones, tablets, computers, toasters, vacuum cleaners and TVs to name a few easier to repair, with parts available.
Too many manufacturers make devices that cannot be repaired and so are thrown into landfill instead of being able to be repaired.
It takes 13,000 litres of water to make 1 mobile phone and 85kg of Co2 yet many of us throw these devices away within 2 years, instead of trying to repair them. 68% of toasters could be repaired.
The theme for International Repair Day is Repair for Everyone. To stress the need for a universal Right to Repair and measures that make repair accessible for everyone.
What Is Happening Internationally?
The UK Repair and Reuse Declaration will be launched on the day. The European Right to Repair campaign is planning a host of events including an action outside the EU parliament on 24th October.
The EU has already made legislation to force mobile phone manufacturers to give consumers the right to change the battery on their phones themselves by 2027 with removable batteries required. The Right To Repair movement asks for legislation to go further and on more things.
