Dealing with e-waste

While Repair Cafes are also growing in popularity (and have many social benefits for those who want to repair broken devices), e-waste recyclers and reprocessors cannot keep up with the sheer amount of e-waste we generate.  It's an interdisciplinary approach that requires new product designs, new business models and consumer behaviour. Together we can create a reuse, recycle and repair culture.

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Pocket Change is a series of pocket-size videos about a key aspect of behaviour change.  Each episode features a BehaviourWorks Australia Researcher explaining their area of expertise in a clear and simple manner.  

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Transcript:

GEOFF

So, Lauren, let's start with the e-waste. Tell us what you know about e-waste and the issues we're facing.

LAUREN

I think e-waste is really interesting because if we think about our homes, we have a range of appliances, you know, vacuums, toasters, microwaves, fridges.

Our day to day is really full of them. But when they break, that's when they become e-waste. And that's becoming a really growing problem. And so e-waste is not the biggest but the fastest growing domestic waste stream. And why that's becoming an issue is that it's growing at a rate that's outpacing recycling. So recycling is not keeping up.

And while we have recently had e-waste bans to landfill, they are promoting really a need to look at other solutions alongside recycling. And that's why I'm quite interested in repair as a potential to keep products in use for longer.

GEOFF

Why is it that we don't repair things the way we used to or our parents used to, or we imagine we used to in the past?

LAUREN

I think that that's changed a lot in terms of what is the norm. So there's a number of things happening there.

In some recent interviews I did, some older people really remember that owning products such as toasters and kettles, repair was a normal part of having those products in your life, whether it was changing the filament or the filter. But nowadays there's a sense that we live in what many people call a throwaway culture, and it's quite normal to have a product break and then in a day or two, you can have it replaced, often for cheaper and easier than it is to repair.  So repairing things often takes commitment and time and perseverance against a bigger system that really facilitates replacement as the norm.

GEOFF

So you've identified some of the barriers to repairs.  What would you say are some of the drivers now, of repairing appliances?

LAUREN

I think there are many reasons why people, repair or attempt to repair the appliances when they break. So for people that repair items themselves, they often really enjoy that challenge of figuring things out, and they get a real thrill out of trying to find a schematic online, piecing together the internal workings of an appliance, and then often successfully fixing it themselves.

And then for others who are engaging a professional repair person to come and support that repair, sometimes it's as simple as, I do not want to see this bulky item go to waste,

GEOFF

We have this idea that e-waste will magically be disassembled and all the components recycled. What's the reality? What's the truth behind, recycling when it comes to e-waste?

LAUREN

It is possible to recycle e-waste. I've actually worked with an e-waste reprocessor and going to their facility, you know, they've sorted all the different types and they have the ability to shred that material and turn it into new sorts of plastic, copper, etc., etc..

And that is a really big opportunity for the concept of urban mining, which is something you might have heard of before. And there are, you know, businesses that really believe that they will be able to generate as much regenerated material as is currently relied on from raw materials.

Recycling many electrical items is possible, but it's one part of the solution. And one of the reasons for that is that scope. So, e-waste processors can only put a certain amount of material through their machines per hour, per day.  So we need to look at other solutions.

GEOFF

So it sounds like a lot of people want to do this to repair things. What is holding them back?

LAUREN

So my research actually looks quite a lot of people that are motivated and engage with repair and really do want to do it. And what I've found is that they often get stuck and they get stuck at various points. And often those points have to do with bigger system influences that are kind of beyond their level of control.

So that can be simply there's not a service provider in the area that offers repair or that is willing to repair the appliance that they have.

It also is a lot of challenges around access to spare parts. And so often people can find the part they need, but they can't access it. And I've seen some great stories of people overcoming that by repairers is that keep parts that they know commonly break or eBay for second hand parts. But you know, there's a lot of challenges in getting that. It's not a quick and easy process.

And also just that bigger sense that repairs are often not the norm. So, you know, it takes time. It can sometimes be more expensive than replacing something. And often that means that a person has to go without that product working for an extent of time as well. And if that product's something that's really essential to your day to day, that tolerance for going without it can become really challenging, too.

GEOFF

Is that one of these systemic issues - that when the price point becomes so attractive to just replace, that repairing doesn't seem to be an option?

LAUREN

Yeah, definitely. I mean, there's a lot of research about the role of price in that kind of price balance. And I think as we are dealing with a challenge that has a lot of cheaply made products, they're not necessarily supported by a spare parts marketplace.  There's now also a lot of products that are designed to be modular from the beginning, or repair is built in, at the design stage.  So there is, you know, marketplaces for spare parts available.

But price is a really big challenge.

I think what's interesting there is people set out with the intention to repair something, that's their goal, and then they come up against, you know, information or a recommendation that it would be cheaper to replace, you'd access newer technology if you replaced it, it would look nicer or, it would be just easier. It's new. It's complete. That may be a recommended way.

And I think understanding that kind of pathway that consumers take in, you know, what are those first steps when they're thinking, when something breaks, what are those first steps that consumers are taking?

Are they seeking information about whether it's possible to repair? Are they investigating the issue and trying to diagnose it themselves? And then are they actually engaging with a shop or service provider and receiving information that doesn't support them to act on that? And I think it's not only consumers but also the stakeholders here, the retailers and service providers as well, that could really support that as well.

GEOFF

So tell me about repair cafes, how they arose as being a thing now that people look forward to as a way of repairing appliances.

LAUREN

Yeah. So there's many ways to have an appliance fixed. You know, you can engage a professional service provider, but then at the kind of community level, that's where repair cafes really play a key role. And they're often led by volunteers. They tend to run monthly and they're often in a kind of local, you know, community centre or hub, that's interested in kind of other waste and sustainability challenges.

And what I found when I visited them is a really nice community atmosphere. People are talking, they're waiting in line to see if they can have their appliance fixed. And typically, when it's their turn, they'll take the appliance up and a volunteer will seek to diagnose what's happening, and see if it's possible to fix it on the spot. And if it's not, they're often able to recommend where to get spare parts from. And often suggest for the individual can access spare parts so they can bring it back the next month and they'll continue the repair. And I've heard a lot of great success stories, out of that as well.

When you put different people around an appliance and they figure that out together, that's a really nice feeling. As is just the different conversations that happen when you're waiting for someone to have a look at an appliance, or really that kind of shared connection of figuring something out.

GEOFF

And finally, would you say there's a bright future for repair cafes? The idea that a grassroots movement can take back control?

LAUREN

I think so, but I think the challenge is they're not the only solution. So as more and more people take products to repair cafes, they’re also operating with limited funding, limited access to spare parts and tools and space. And so it's working out what other ways we can support repair rather than just focusing on repair cafes as well.

And that's when this challenge is really interdisciplinary. It covers product design, it covers business models, consumer behaviour, policy. And so that looking at that solution is really requires looking at all those different things.

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