What was once the focus of reuse advocates and the tech community, the right to repair electronic devices has recently become a priority for the recycling industry, too. As new devices get smaller and more complex they’re also becoming harder to process cost-effectively.
While legislation has been proposed in multiple states to require manufacturers to release the schematics and tools for their products, those manufacturers seem to have little interest in letting this happen.
"When there's no competition for repair, guess what manufacturers do? They price their repair to be a reason to buy a new one," said Gay Gordon-Byrne, executive director of The Repair Association. "It's not nefarious, it's just obvious."
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