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E-waste is growing 5x faster than it's recycled, says UN
(www.theregister.com)
This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
I've been toying with an idea that the government should keep track of purchases (voluntarily and anonymously) and they should have minimum guaranteed. So if your freezer only last 10 years then the government can see this, or you can see this on the website and the manufacturer has to repair it or refund it fully. Different products have different guarantees
That would sort out shit products pretty quick.
The issue is holding that capital for insurance, especially for new companies (like seriously this is a potential dealbreaker problem) but it might have the added benefit that shite from China can't get insurance and can't be sold, only local products can, or products from the west.
Secondly the price of recycling should be included in the upfront cost and the government should provide free recycling. Or it is 150% of recycling cost and the consumer gets the 50% back when they recycle rather than throwing it in a river.
There is already stuff like that where I live in the EU, it runs basically on (e-)receipts or other proofs of sale. Don't mandatory warranties exist in the US?
Oh, it totally will, and they will even pretend everything is alright when sold, then by the time you try getting at them the company won't exist.
There is some in the US but enforcement is lacking.