Right to repair is a simple idea: you should be able to fix the things you own. A cracked phone screen, a laptop that won't charge, a washing machine with a faulty pump — these are fixable problems, not reasons to buy new.
The scale of the problem
The UK throws away around 1.5 million tonnes of electronic waste every year. Globally, e-waste is the fastest-growing waste stream on the planet. And here's the thing — most of it still works, or could with a straightforward repair.
Manufacturers have spent years making repair harder. Glued-in batteries, proprietary screws, software locks that prevent third-party parts from working. The message is clear: don't fix it, replace it.
What's changing
The good news is that legislation is catching up. The UK now has ecodesign regulations that require manufacturers of certain appliances to make spare parts available for up to 10 years. The EU has gone further with rules covering smartphones, tablets, and laptops. It's not perfect yet, but the direction is right.
What this means locally
Every time you choose to repair a device instead of replacing it, you're making a real environmental choice. A laptop repair that costs £55 saves roughly 300kg of CO2 compared to manufacturing a new machine. Across Sussex, if even a fraction of the devices people bin each year got repaired instead, that's tonnes of waste avoided.
We see this every day. Someone sends us a laptop they were about to bin — we clean the fans, swap in an SSD, and it runs like new for another five years.
What you can do
Before you buy new, ask: can this be fixed? Get a quote — you might be surprised how affordable it is. And when you do need to buy, consider refurbished. A professionally restored laptop performs just as well as new, costs significantly less, and keeps another device in use instead of in a skip.
We're here to help with all of it — repairs, advice, and sourcing refurbished machines. Give us a call.