PICTURE: The right to repair for a sustainable future? (ABC News: Rebecca Trigger) ABC Radio Sydney | Nightlife with Phillip Clarke

The right to repair for a sustainable future?
Listen at ABC Radio Sydney, Tue 21 Nov 2023

When we purchase a new product and it is faulty, or wears out, do you feel you should be able to repair it in the first instance rather than replace it? Companies don’t bother with repair these days, they prefer to just replace anything under warranty. At the most extreme, manufacturers actively prevent us from repairing their products for fear of voiding warranties. The result is huge waste with millions of expensive products, from cars to phones and appliances ending up in landfill.

John Gertsakis is an Adjunct Professor with the Institute for Sustainable Futures at the University of Technology and is a Director at the Product Stewardship Centre for Excellence. He joined Philip Clark with a look at sustainability, the circular economy and the concept of ‘product stewardship’, how design, durability and repair-ability, and sustainable materials could change how much waste is generated.   Broadcast 21 Nov 2023.

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Jess Scully in this podcast

MUCH OF THE WAY WE THINK ABOUT THE ECONOMY and our environ-ment is based on a linear model – a system of extraction, consumption and waste. But advocates for a “circular economy” approach argue it’s time to start mimicking the cycles of nature that keep the planet healthy. It’s about seeing waste as a resource and thinking about the future impact of today’s decisions.

Recorded at the 2023 Byron Writers Festival

Guests
Jess Scully – Curator, author, and former Deputy Mayor of Sydney
Jeff Goodell – New York Times best-selling author
Ben Roche – Vice President (Engagement), Southern Cross University
Further information
Jess Scully — Glimpses of Utopia
Jeff Goodell — Heat: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet
Credits:  Karin Zsivanovits, Producer,   Antony Funnell, Presenter

Featured in MMM Issue 41, Dec.23 – Jan.24