Think back to the last time you took a household appliance to get repaired — the answer may well be "last century, or "never".
New Zealand creates electronic waste at one of the fastest rates globally, but Consumer New Zealand thinks it might have the solution.
According to Consumer NZ, 97,000 tonnes of electronics are thrown away each year — the equivalent of filling both Eden Park and the SkyTower with four-slice toasters — and equal to 20kg for every person a year.
New Zealand is the only country among the 38 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) nations that doesn't have laws to force manufacturers to offer repair services and information.
Consumer NZ believes that if New Zealand did have such laws — such as a Right to Repair legislation — our level of e-waste could be significantly reduced.
How does a right to repair law work?
"If we think of the right to repair as a concept, it's essentially that you have the right to repair the stuff that you own," explained Consumer New Zealand's communications adviser, Abby Damen.
"In terms of the law, we actually have a Right to Repair legislation under the Consumer Guarantees Act, but there's actually a loophole in that section.
"[The loophone] allows manufacturers to opt out of providing repairs or spare parts, and they often do this by burying the phrase 'we don't offer spare parts' in the back of an instruction manual," she said.
"The problem is that as a consumer, as someone trying to find a kettle, you don't know that that kettle isn't repairable, and it has no spare parts in the first place."
New Zealand creates electronic waste at one of the fastest rates globally (Source: Seven Sharp)
What would be different with a right to repair bill?
"Right now, if you were to go Kmart to get yourself a kettle, you might score one for $11. For that price, it's unlikely it's going to have spare parts or be repairable," said Damen.
"The problem is that you might go back to the manufacturer and ask for a repair, but you're more likely to get a replacement.
"That original kettle is probably going to end up in landfill."
With a right to repair legislation, consumers would be able to demand or request a repair — as opposed to just accepting a replacement.
"You'd be able to buy that kettle knowing there are spare parts available."
Would a right to repair legislation increase costs?
"That's a valid concern. If there are spare parts available for a kettle, it's going to cost a little bit more. And there's probably going to be pushback from manufacturers because a movement like this is seriously disrupting the status quo.
"But this is really something we can't not do. This is about slowing down the needless, endless cycle of consumerism, of buying, breaking and throwing to landfill," said Damen.
Are we getting closer to enacting a right to repair law?
"Consumer NZ has a petition which is calling for greater transparency in this space.
"When we reach 20,000 signatures — we're only a few thousand signatures away — we're going to hand our petition to MPs at Parliament to show them that New Zealanders do care about their right and permission to repair the stuff that they own."
The Consumer Guarantees (Right to Repair) Amendment Bill, a member's bill created by Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson, is due to have its first reading later this year.
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