Repairing and recycling are very different discussions. To my knowledge, recycling eletronics is no more a problem than it’s always been. Companies like Apple have pretty impressive recycling efforts.
And repairability? I don’t see the problem. If my iPhone breaks, I can go visit the Apple store, and they’ll take care of it. Having third-party repair services for some so tiny and complex is just a recipe for warranty problems and headaches.
> Repairing and recycling are very different discussions.
They're part of the higher level discussion, and recycling should be placed there where repair is no longer feasible (in the context of appliances/machinery).
Exactly. I would be much more in favour of the (what I call) throwaway economy - because it really is convenient - if I could trust that the stuff I discard is being recycled into new products in an efficient way. As it is, we're still mining raw resources to manufacture new stuff, and the old stuff decomposes itself to uselessness (or poisons the Earth).
And repairability? I don’t see the problem. If my iPhone breaks, I can go visit the Apple store, and they’ll take care of it. Having third-party repair services for some so tiny and complex is just a recipe for warranty problems and headaches.