Author Archives: admin

SETEM Catalunya, as members of the European Right to Repair campaign, we join in the letter addressed to European parliamentarians, calling for the new European Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation to ban the destruction of unsold electronic and textile products, along with 45 other NGOs throughout Europe. The destruction of unsold products represents the most wasteful scenario conceivable in a linear economy. Throughout the process of manufacturing these products there … Read More

This past October there was an outbreak of COVID-19 at the Foxconn factory in Zhengzhou in China, the largest complex that produces iPhones for Apple, which houses different production plants. At the time, a spokesperson for Apple’s supplier said the impact was manageable and conditions at the factory were stable. However, the company prioritized maintaining production, rather than protecting workers from the outbreak. This unleashed further contagion, to which the … Read More

80% of the carbon footprint of our electronic devices is produced in the production phase, during the extraction of raw materials, transportation, manufacturing of the different parts, assembly, and distribution to points of sale. In addition, the manufacture of each device requires raw materials, many of which are extracted through mining. Mining has strong environmental impacts, such as loss of biodiversity, soil contamination, deforestation; and also social impacts, such as … Read More

SETEM Catalunya has joined forces with more than 20 organisations, trade unions and others to demand an ambitious waste law. We need the future waste law of Catalonia to go radically against the current model that makes natural resources disappear and generates a great deal of pollution. We have been in front of the Government of the Generalitat to support the demand for waste reduction, liquid toxic products, an economy … Read More

Original article by Alex Kamczyc – Recycling Today. Picture: Thilo Parg. CC licensed. The New York State Senate has passed the Digital Fair Repair Act, which will expand consumer access to tools and information to repair personal electronics. The bill passed on 3 June by a near-unanimous vote of 145 to 1. The bill requires original equipment manufacturers to make diagnostic information, replacement parts, schematics, special tools and firmware available … Read More

Original article (Markus Piringer and Orla Butler) The Austrian government launched a new bonus to promote the repair of electronic devices. The national scheme allows consumers to recover half the cost of repairing an old electrical device. Climate Minister Leonore Gewessler launched the scheme with the intention of “making repair attractive again”. Up to €200 of the cost of a repair is refunded, which means cheaper repairs, less e-waste and … Read More