Right to Repair

You may have spotted plenty of activity at this year’s #RepairDay talking about “Right to Repair”. It’s great to see progress on this issue, which will help communities like us do more for ourselves.

What’s this about?

The main “ask” is for legislators to help remove barriers to repair, for example manufacturers using software to block use of parts. Right-to-Repair Europe summarise this in a neat animation complete with a soundtrack which was presumably produced on a well-maintained 32-year old Atari.

Support the UK Campaign

We’re one of more than 200 repair groups, businesses and politicians who have signed the UK Repair and Reuse Declaration, put together over the summer, led by the Restart Project. They explain the background here.

The declaration acknowledges that in the UK we have one of the biggest e-Waste challenges in the world and asks the government to support those of us working for a more sustainable future. The requests are:

• Making repair more affordable, through tax reductions and repair vouchers.
• Expanding the UK’s right to repair regulations to cover all consumer products, strengthen design standards and remove barriers to repair for everyone.
• Introducing a repair index to help the public choose more repairable and durable products.
• Introducing requirements and targets for reuse and repair to be prioritised over recycling and providing investment to make this a reality. This should be a key part of amended extended producer responsibility rules.
• Supporting a new generation of repairers through repair training, accreditation and apprenticeships.

If you’d like to get involved, you can ask your organisation to sign up, or use the online tool to quickly email your local MP. Let’s get Annelise Dodds and Layla Moran’s names on that list!