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California Senate ‘Right to Repair Act’ could let us fix our broken stuff

April 4, 2023

My “unfixable electronics” bin weighs almost as much as I do.

There’s the ancient iPad, where the kids made “Talking Tom” tell potty jokes, dropped one too many times. And ah, my beloved Microsoft Surface, where I could scribble notes with an electronic pen — it died immediately after I bought it that beautiful black-and-white leather case. And, um, there’s the Surface before it, with the spider-web shattered screen…. It was perched on the dining room table — cord taut to the wall — when the dogs gave chase. “Computer shotput” is how I remember it. And the phones … all those phones!

I’ve saved these seemingly useless electronics because, even though their makers said they couldn’t be fixed, it seemed clear that their makers simply wouldn’t fix them.

“When something breaks, you fix it. That’s just common sense. But manufacturers of everything from phones to appliances to tractors intentionally make things difficult to repair,” says a new study by the California Public Interest Research Group and its national affiliate.

Sforza’s dead electronics bin

Enter then “The Right to Repair Act,” Senate Bill 244 by Sen. Susan Talamantes Eggman, D-Stockton. It would allow individuals and independent repair shops access to the tools, parts and, vitally, manuals, needed to fix what’s broken.

It could shatter “manufacturers’ repair monopolies,” feed the growing independent “Repair Cafe” movement, lead to less electronic waste and save consumers money, supporters said.

American households spend about $1,767 every year buying new electronics, a 19% increase in just two years, despite falling prices for many items, CALPIRG found.

“And even as the financial burden of replacing broken laptops, refrigerators and other electronic products increases, so does the toll on the environment,” it said. “Disposable is not a word that should describe our electronics, but we are turning over our gadgets far too quickly. And when we dispose of electronics, we’re adding toxic elements such as lead, mercury and cadmium to our landfills. It’s time to unleash repair for our wallets and the planet.”

On average, Americans have 24 pieces of electronics in their homes, and the average American family generates about 115 pounds of electronic waste each year.

“When the cost of repair inches toward the cost of replacement, it might seem like buying the new product is cheaper,” CALPIRG said. “But fixing the product and extending its lifespan leads to big savings.”

Repair could reduce household spending on electronics and appliances by 21.6 percent, saving an average family nearly $400 per year, it found. With 13.4 million households in California, that could save folks $5.13 billion annually, which is almost real money.

Volunteers work on fixing various broken items brought in by members of the community during the Repair Cafe at Throop Memorial Church in Pasadena on Saturday, May 25, 2019. (Photo by Nick Agro, Contributing Photographer)

Dustin Buccino, left, an instrument engineer at JPL, and Jeremiah Wang, right, an emergency room physician, work on replacing the power cable to an old heater during the Repair Cafe at Throop Memorial Church in Pasadena on Saturday, May 25, 2019.(Photo by Nick Agro, Contributing Photographer)

Pasadena Vice Mayor, Felicia Williams, uses a sewing machine to repair items brought in during the “Repair Cafe” event at Remainders Creative Reuse in Pasadena on Saturday, April 1, 2023. Residents brought in broken electronics, appliances, toys, furniture and more for free repairs during the event. (Photo by Trevor Stamp, Contributing Photographer)

Sam Ettinger, 33, of Pasadena repairs an electronic item during the “Repair Cafe” event at Remainders Creative Reuse in Pasadena on Saturday, April 1, 2023. Residents brought in broken electronics, appliances, toys, furniture and more for free repairs during the event. (Photo by Trevor Stamp, Contributing Photographer)

Residents brought in broken electronics, appliances, toys, furniture and more for free repairs during the “Repair Cafe” event at Remainders Creative Reuse in Pasadena on Saturday, April 1, 2023. The event was also used to promote a proposed law that would make it easier for people to repair electronics. (Photo by Trevor Stamp, Contributing Photographer)

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“Repair makes our communities more resilient,” the report says. “Instead of relying on the global supply chain to bring a never-ending supply of new stuff, repair helps us keep devices going using only local resources. A robust repair ecosystem with more people in our neighborhoods working repair jobs, results in lower repair costs quicker and service. But if manufacturers further restrict repair, downtime and prices go up.”

Eggman’s bill is in committee, with a hearing slated for April 11. A similar bill died last year, but with “right to repair” becoming a national movement — Samsung, Apple and Google have loosened their grips on the parts and tools needed for folks to make simple fixes to their own devices — there’s hope that, someday, I may be able to use that beautiful black-and-white leather case on my rejuvenated, revived and reborn Microsoft Surface. Hope springs eternal.

Orange County Register

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California Senate ‘Right to Repair Act’ could let us fix our broken stuff

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