Slightly less than one in five Canadians has chosen to repair an electronic device or household appliance (AEE) that has suffered a breakdown, reveals a first pan-Canadian study on access to repair, led by Équiterre.
The organization calls on governments to take financial and legislative measures to encourage repairs, but also demands that manufacturers and consumers take their responsibilities.
Équiterre presented a research report on Tuesday looking at the obstacles and levers to the repair of AEEs. This contains the results of a survey of 2,080 people in the country in 2021. It shows that the use of repairs has decreased compared to 2018. At that time, the proportion was 22.7%, according to investigation.
“The repair reflex is lost,” observes Amélie Côté, source reduction analyst at Équiterre. Three out of five people had not considered having their devices repaired. »
Among the obstacles mentioned by the respondents are the perception that the devices are increasingly irreparable and the difficulty of having access to parts and tools.
Answers that match those of the forty repairers interviewed in Quebec and British Columbia as part of the study. They also identified frequent technological changes in devices and the miniaturization of certain components as obstacles.
Consumers also pointed to the financial aspect: the repair is considered to cost more than the price of a new device.
However, in addition to the environmental benefits, extending the life of an AEE can be an economic choice, argues Équiterre.
“An American study showed that the use of repairs can reduce household expenditure for electrical and electronic appliances by up to 22%. And in Canada, it represented an average of $972 per year, “said Ms. Côté to The Canadian Press.
Regulating the right to repair
The price of a new entry-level device often remains more attractive to the consumer than the repair, “even if this kind of product will have to be replaced more often in the long term, generating more expenses”, can we read in the report.
Équiterre therefore recommends that governments apply eco-taxation measures to reduce the repair bill. He suggests, for example, the creation of a fund that would be used to offer a discount to consumers when paying to fix a defect.
Manufacturers could also offer affordable packages allowing consumers to pay a maximum of the equivalent of 30% of the price of a new device.
Équiterre also invites them to design sustainable products. Research indicates that devices experience malfunction after 2.6 years of use on average.
Manufacturers should also provide access to parts and instructions to rebuild an AEE, as well as prioritize repairing a product under warranty over routine replacement.
But one of the key solutions to ensure that manufacturers follow suit is a legislative framework for the right to repair, like other states.
“By implementing, for example, a durability index that gives us information on whether our property is durable or repairable, that will encourage manufacturers to change their ways of doing things. This is what has been observed in France, ”explains Ms. Côté.
The federal government could define the right to repair in the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, by prohibiting the design and marketing of irreparable products.
Équiterre also hopes that Quebec will revive the bill amending the Consumer Protection Act in order to fight against planned obsolescence and assert the right to repair goods.
Amélie Côté is confident that the political will will be there. “I think everyone has experiences of broken devices that they wish they could fix. In our view, this is therefore a transpartisan issue that should go smoothly in terms of amendments. »
At the same time, the population also has its role to play. The survey found that 82% of Canadians had purchased a new electronic or household appliance after it had broken down. The production of AEE represents “amazing quantities of resources”, says Ms. Côté.
Équiterre believes that the public should give preference to the purchase of used AEEs and to properly maintain their devices. He mentions that the cause of the breakage is often poor or lack of maintenance of the device, according to the repairers met during the study.
The organization also encourages people to search for information online to try to correct a minor problem or find a repair service, such as the “repair café” workshops, which number around 50 in the country.
This article was produced with the financial support of the Meta Fellowships and The Canadian Press for News.