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DannyB [soylentnews.org] writes:

Europe Wants a ‘Right to Repair’ Smartphones and Gadgets [nytimes.com]

The European Union is seeking to help consumers fix or upgrade devices, rather than replace them, as part of a 30-year push to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

LONDON — Hoping to replace that two-year-old smartphone in a few months? The European Union wants you to think twice about doing that.

The bloc announced an ambitious plan on Wednesday that would require manufacturers of electronic products, from smartphones to tumble driers, to offer more repairs, upgrades and ways to reuse existing goods, instead of encouraging consumers to buy new ones.

[ . . . ] "The linear growth model of ‘take-make-use-discard’ has reached its limits," Virginijus Sinkevicius, the union’s environment commissioner, told reporters in Brussels as he presented the "Circular Economy Action Plan," which includes the "right to repair" initiative.

"We want to make sure that products placed on E.U. market are designed to last longer, to be easier to repair and upgrade, easier to recycle and easier to reuse," he added.

Hopefully this would put an end to the waste and cost associat. . . . Look! Over there! A Shiny!

Original Submission