Action Alert: Support the Oregon Right to Repair Act (2023)
Posted on February 7, 2023 by Jennifer Hill-Hart
Tags, Energy, General Interest
Editor’s Note: Want to take action on Right to Repair? Tell your state legislator to support the Oregon Right to Repair Act today!
This year, CUB is supporting the Right to Repair Act (SB 542). This bill expands your ability to repair your electronics by requiring manufacturers to allow access to parts, tools, and repair manuals.
The Right to Repair Act removes barriers so we can fix our electronics, increasing affordability and reducing e-waste.
Right to Repair: Fixing What Your Already Own
Right now, it can be incredibly difficult to fix electronics. Manufacturers might glue down pieces to prevent repair. Highly specialized tools needed for replacing parts can be hard to find. And the parts themselves may be completely unavailable. Right to Repair removes these barriers so we can fix our electronics, increasing affordability and reducing e-waste.
Right to Repair: More Affordable Electronics, Increasing Internet Access
CUB was troubled by manufacturer-imposed repair restrictions before the pandemic. COVID-19 has underscored the need for consumer fair repair rights, particularly for electronic communication devices needed for modern life.
Organizations like Free Geek would help bridge this device access gap, especially for low-income households. In 2020, Free Geek estimated that Oregon students lacked at least 75,000 computers needed for distance learning. Even as we have returned to public life, low-income households lack access to affordable electronics.
Right to Repair: Reducing Harmful Pollution
Repairing and extending the life of household electronics reduces waste and harmful pollution. When we throw away household electronics, those devices often sit in landfills in our communities. E-waste, especially batteries, can be incredibly harmful to both the planet and the people who live near landfills. Oregonians dispose of over a million cell phones alone every year.
U.S. PIRG estimates that if the useful life of all phones currently used in the US was extended by just one year, the impacts on emissions would be staggering. The overall reduction in greenhouse gas emissions would equal the annual emissions from more than 600,000 gas-powered cars.
Manufacturers are Getting in the Way of Repair
Big business is getting in the way of our access to repair. Industry-created restrictions benefit manufacturers and sellers because we have to buy a new product when the broken one can’t be repaired.
Support the Right to Repair Act today to remove barriers and make electronics more affordable for Oregon households!
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04/12/23 | 0 Comments | Action Alert: Support the Oregon Right to Repair Act (2023)