(EUROPE)
Politicians in the European Parliament have passed a resolution calling for goods and products to be more easily repairable for reuse.
This more circular approach is in line with a 2014 Eurobarometer survey, where 77% of people stated they’d prefer to repair goods rather than replace them. What puts them off doing so is the prohibitive costs of fixing products.
Green Member of the European Parliament (MEP), Pascal Durand said: “We must reinstate the reparability of all products put on the market. We have to make sure that batteries are no longer glued into a product, but are screwed in so that we do not have to throw away a phone when the battery breaks down. We need to make sure that consumers are aware of how long the products last and how they can be repaired.”
The recommendations, which were passed by 662 votes to 32, included proposals such as incentivising the manufacture of repairable products, and ensuring key components like LEDs and batteries were not fixed – and could be replaced, unless there was a safety reason to do otherwise.
