UK “Right to Repair” law enacted, “smartphones and laptops are excluded”

On 1 July 2021, the UK came into force with the Right to Repair Act. The law obligates manufacturers to sell spare parts so that repairers can repair themselves, but the problem is that the target products are few and products such as smartphones and laptops are missing.

The UK’s new right to repair law makes it mandatory for manufacturers to sell spare parts. To ensure easy and safe replacement of rubber packings for refrigerator sealing and washing machine detergent drawers, it is mandatory to keep selling the same parts for at least 10 years, and for parts for highly specialized repair companies, such as washing machine motors and heating elements, for at least 7 years. The law expects the UK government to reduce e-waste by 1.5 million tonnes per year.

This law was introduced to prevent the production of products that fail after a certain period of time and to respond to the voices of consumers who want to use the product for a long time. However, it is pointed out that the target product is small. According to the report, the law covers only four types of consumer products: dishwashers, washing machines, laundry dryers, refrigerators, TVs and other electronic displays. Therefore, it is appealing to caution that it does not apply to high-tech devices such as rice cookers, gas stoves, rotary clothes dryers, microwave ovens, laptops and smartphones.

In addition, this right to repair law does not place any restrictions on the price of spare parts, and in fact, some home appliances with an average lifespan of 20 to 25 years, such as refrigerators, need to purchase spare parts at a low price if they need to be used significantly exceeding the 10 years stipulated by this law. In addition, it is pointed out that the product should be available for purchase during a period close to its lifespan. Moreover, the repair guaranteed by this law is strictly a criterion for judging whether a repair company can perform the product, and whether a consumer can purchase the product or whether a consumer can repair it is not covered. .

According to this law, there is a grace period from product sales to parts sales, with a grace period of two years until each company sells the product and provides replacement parts. In addition, the EU is passing a law making it mandatory for home appliance manufacturers to submit repairs in March 2021. The law makes it mandatory for manufacturers to undertake repairs for 10 years. Related information can be found here.