By Robert Dean
Carter County Times
My TV started doing this thing where a menu pops up on the screen, where it thinks I’ve installed a new HDMI cable, asking me if I’d like to “enjoy” my new hardware. The bizarre phrasing aside, I did not want to enjoy it and didn’t install anything. There’s likely a glitch; maybe deeper Googling might find the issue. Chances are the television isn’t long for this world. What’s unfortunate is that back in the day, the TV would get fixed. Today, we’re expected to throw away our electronics and buy new ones. And that goes for everything. Even your toaster has a death date; your fridge could push up daisies at any moment.
A phrase in legislative, political, and consumer circles focuses on this egregious phenomenon: the right to repair. Why am I expected to buy a new television when the issue might be as easy as installing a new HDMI port or a software upgrade? I’m getting screwed by having to plop down a couple of hundred on a new television that, minus that popup, works just fine—and the old TV winds up sitting in a landfill long enough to meet my great-great-grandchildren. According to the UN, global e-waste reached 59.4 million metric tons in 2023, but only 17.4% was properly collected and recycled.
The issue is that the boardroom vampires figured out that it’s more profitable to make us buy new stuff than get things repaired, and that landfills were better places for their products than your bedroom for a decade or so.
Electronics companies argue that restricting repair access protects intellectual property and innovation. At the same time, I ask – do I own this TV, or have I just been renting it for a few years? It’s mine – why can’t I elect to fix it rather than buy something new? How can a manufacturer claim to be “sustainable” when phones, tablets, dryers, and whatever else wind up in landfills? And those that don’t? They wind up in places like Lagos, Nigeria, where people have a cultural imperative to repair things rather than buy new ones, which I respect. Why does everything have to be brand new? A study by the U.S. PIRG found that Americans could save $40 billion annually if they repaired rather than replaced their electronics and appliances.
Outside of your local car mechanic, we’re losing our ability to fix things. Everything doesn’t have to be thrown away. Extending product lifespans through repair could significantly reduce environmental impact. E-waste is one of the fastest-growing waste streams globally. If Apple and Android had their way, we’d have new phones every six months, but some of us (like me) hold onto our phones for a long while. (My iPhone is an 11—Apple is currently on 16.) It works fine because, by law, Apple has to send me the data upgrades for this, and my MacBook Pro. Apple was forced by legislation to allow self-service repairs instead of voiding your warranty if you fixed the screen yourself. (I worked for Apple. I wrote copy for Apple Care or whatever it’s called.)
Somehow, this corporate urge to squeeze every buck reminds me of the time I was in Orlando on a work trip. I had a night to kill and wanted to go to Disney World. I’m a secret Disney adult—I love the Haunted Mansion and will gladly hop on the teacups. I called the Mouse’s 800 number wanting to know what a ticket would set me back. It was after 6:00—was there maybe a cheaper nighttime option? The kid on the other line informed me there wasn’t, and when I groaned at the price of almost $200 for six hours of park time, he said, “You can’t put a price on memories.” And that’s when I really began to hate corporate America. Not being able to get your electronics fixed feels like the same kind of jive: “You can’t put a price on what you’re willing to spend to ignore your wife and play video games for hours.” Corporations also figured out that we attach memories to things, even if that thing is wanting to sell a kidney to afford to go down Space Mountain.
The EU and some states like New York, California, and Colorado force manufacturers to require longer product lifespans and allow for repair access by independent repair services. They’re our products and ensuring that only the company can repair your TV or your computer is a monopoly on something you own. Plus, at the granular level, being able to fix washing machines is a career that will never go out of business, and that’s good for the local economy, especially the local burger joint at noon. Independent repair businesses create local jobs at a rate 28 times higher per device than manufacturer-authorized repair facilities. If I want to repair my TV, that’s on me. Suppose you want to use the excuse that it’s got an annoying popup to buy one the size of your wall—in that case, that’s on you. But you shouldn’t be forced into it because some suit wants to keep their fiscal numbers up while murdering the earth and your wallet in the process. Remember, corporations say you can’t put a price on memories—but apparently, you can slap one on everything else.
