We were super disappointed to learn that the Consumer Guarantees (Right to Repair) Amendment Bill did not get a second reading in government last week. The bill would have been a vital piece of legislation to keep textiles and other materials in circulation for longer and out of landfill, requiring manufacturers to repair, rather than simply replace, products.
More than 95% of the 1250 submissions supported the Consumer Guarantees (Right to Repair) Amendment Bill. The people spoke yet, this time round at least, our elected officials were not given the opportunity to vote on this and reflect the voices of their electorates.
The huge popularity of both our Repair Revolution events and also our Reuse shop and yard demonstrates that people don’t want to buy new; they want to make the most of what we’ve already got. Our Repair Revolution workshops run every two months in both Queenstown and Wānaka, free events that support people to renew, revive and repair their things to keep them in circulation and out of landfill. Our amazing repair volunteers share their skills and expertise so that attendees not only leave with revitalised items but also with the knowledge that allows them to apply this to additional items at home.
Over the past five years, our volunteer fixers have repaired 1862 everyday items, amounting to 2,857kg of resources saved from landfill preventing the emission of 23,568kg of CO2, and that’s not counting the trickle-down effect!
So, what next for the bill? With the huge nationwide support that saw submissions come in from individuals and organisations alike (including Consumer NZ, Repair Aotearoa Coalition and of course Wastebusters), although the pause button may have been hit, it’s certainly not the end. We know that this is an issue that’s important to our communities and Wastebusters will continue to advocate for the right to repair and look forward to it becoming a reality.
In the meantime, join the revolution…
