The shiny gadgets of today will be waste tomorrow. Manufacturers don't talk much about this when they announce the big new thing that will replace your mostly just as good old thing. In fact, technology firms often purposely design devices that will not last long and cannot be repaired so that consumers will have to spend their money on a new one.
This year, the French government began requiring tech manufacturers to list a repairability score. If a device can be repaired, then its life can be extended, saving consumers money and the planet the burden of so many trashed gadgets. Equipped with this knowledge, consumers can make better choices about which products to buy.
Some 59 million tons of old TVs, computers, screens, smartphones, washers and other electronics are discarded every year. This waste is dangerous. Batteries explode in recycling facilities. Toxic substances like mercury leak into soil and groundwater and disperse in the air. Manufacturing flat screens adds greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. We need tech companies to take the lead to solve this problem. If they won't, governments must make them do so.
Although tech companies will often speak of environmental sustainability, many lobby against repair legislation, fearful it will eat into their profits. Sustainability matters, but marketable design appears to matter more to these companies. Consumers should support right-to-repair legislation. In this world, damage is a certainty. But we cannot leave things broken: A problem of our creation is a problem that can be fixed.