Kolaja (Pirates): Products without defects and with the possibility of repair

More sustainable products that can be repaired when broken and recycled when they reach their end of life. This should be brought about by a pair of legislations approved by the European Parliament. According to MEP and Quaestor of the European Parliament, Marcel Kolaja, thanks to this, people will get better quality products for their money, and more efficient use of materials will in turn help the planet.

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Description: Marcel Kolaja

“According to estimates, Europeans today lose up to 12 billion euros a year, i.e. about 303 billion crowns, due to the unnecessary throwing away of goods. In doing so, they produce about 35 million tons of waste. In other words: we act as if we have not only one Earth, but at least ten, as if new goods cost nothing. But the problem is not so much in the customers as in the producers themselves. These are usually designed in such a way that they do not last long and customers soon have to buy a new product. And the repair is either not available or not worth it,” explains Kolaja.

This is to be changed by a pair of legislations that received final approval from MEPs. It is about the ecodesign directive and the so-called right to repair. The former focuses on how products are designed, the latter on how they can be given new life after being broken.

“The ecodesign directive introduces new requirements for product design itself. For example, it prohibits practices that lead to premature obsolescence, such as so-called spoilage or the unavailability of software updates. For selected types of products, it is introducing ‘digitizing passports’, which will contain information about the origin of various parts of the product or about recycling options. A repairability score will also appear on some products. From this, the customer can easily tell whether he is buying a really high-quality product, or rather a ‘rabbit in a bag’ that will go into the trash even because of the slightest defect,” says Kolaja.

The second of the directives, known as the right to repair, focuses on easier and more affordable repairs. “This applies to large household appliances, such as washing machines, dryers, dishwashers or refrigerators, but also, for example, mobile phones and tablets or batteries for e-bikes. Repairs will be more affordable. Thanks to the obligation for manufacturers to provide spare parts and thanks to the support of independent repair shops,” adds Kolaja.

In addition, the two pieces of legislation that support the concept of the so-called circular economy have another positive impact. They prohibit the throwing away of selected categories of unsold goods. “To produce one cotton T-shirt, the same volume of drinking water is needed as is enough for one person for 2.5 years. Nevertheless, an estimated 11 to 32 million such T-shirts are thrown away in Europe every year. And that without these t-shirts ever reaching the customer. The company simply manufactures them, does not sell them and throws them away. And that’s only because offering clothes that have gone out of fashion could lead to a decrease in the market price. But the result is that these clothes are exported to landfills, for example in Africa, where giant piles of waste are created,” explains Kolaja.

The MEPs approved the compromise wording of both pieces of legislation, on which the Parliament agreed with the European Council and the Commission in the framework of the trialogue.

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