Companies that sell refrigerators, washers, hairdryers or TVs in the European Union will need to ensure that those appliances can be repaired for up to 10 years, in a bid to reduce the vast mountain of electrical waste that piles up each year on the continent.
The “right to repair,” as it is sometimes called, comes into force across the 27-nation bloc Monday. It is part of a broader effort to cut the environmental footprint of manufactured goods by making them more durable and energy-efficient.
“This is a really big step in the right direction,” said Daniel Affelt of the German environmental group BUND-Berlin, which runs several “repair cafes” where people can bring in their broken appliances and get help fixing them up again.
