A Word About Recycling with Ollie Maier

A while back I mentioned how some electronic repair stakeholders are trying to get right-to-repair legislation passed so items are made to be repairable rather than recycled or thrown in the trash. Today I will have a little update on it.

Right now, nationwide, 15 states have active rightto-repair bills, according to The Repair Association, which expects another five or more bills to be introduced this year. Additionally, last year about 20 state legislatures had right-to-repair legislation introduced.

Some of the bills would require manufacturers of electronic products to provide to independent repair shops such things as parts, tools, equipment and information needed to repair their devices.

Washington state Senator Christine Rolfes challenged the big technology corporations to revise their business model which now depends on functional obsolescence.

“I’m not suggesting that we make this technology easy to steal and easy to duplicate, but I am suggesting that big tech gives us products that we can repair,” Rolfes said.

Another right-to-repair spokesperson, Adelle Pomeroy, digital inclusion manager at nonprofit repair and recycling organization Free Geek, spoke on how currently without information from the manufactures, to repair an item, workers often have to break an item apart to see how they are made.

“It’s not logical. It’s unnecessary and very challenging and a waste of resources as a nonprofit,” she said. “If we did have this right-to-repair bill passed, we’d have a lot more access to refurbishing technology and be able to serve our community more and give more devices to the vulnerable communities that need them.”

Addressing a repair problem, Adrian Avery-Johnson, the owner of a small repair business, had a somewhat humorous, yet what-canhappen story of an event at his shop. He said the day before, a customer brought in Kindle, Garmin and Macbook devices, all with damaged USB ports because the customer’s young daughter put oatmeal in them. The customer was told by authorized repair centers that replacement was the only option at a cost of about $2,000.

However, he was able to repair them all for less than just the cost of a replacement tablet.

However, members of a number of electronics industry associations are against any right-to-repair legislation. They feel it risks the manufacturers’ intellectual property, like Samantha Kersul, executive director in Washington and the Northwest for TechNet.

“Technology companies must be able to manage their repair networks in order to provide adequate training and accountability, which leads to safe and effective repairs,” she said.

One person feels the industry’s arguments don’t hold up. If my car needs repair, I can take it to the dealer, to a small automotive repair shop, or even my neighbor if he has the necessary equipment. It’s who I trust the most and can give me the best value for my money.

Till next week, do have a great one...

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Ollie is a local citizen concerned with the environment and helping others. A retired Air Force fighter and instructor pilot, he is a graduate of Leadership San Marcos and received his degrees at Texas State University where he worked on staff before totally retiring. For questions or comments, he invites you to call him at 512-353-7432.