Freddie. Yes, the economics of repairs are made difficult by cheap manufacturing which, because of the labour costs involved, makes repairing uneconomic. Legislation is probably needed to force manufactures to design goods so that they can be easily and cheaply repaired. White goods, which generally fail because of mechanical part wearing out or failing, need a design that allows them to be easily replaced, and there's no reason that battery replacement need to be made difficult, except there maybe complications with waterproof phones, etc. Of course the complexion of some modern items - cars, IT and other electrical equipment, etc - means that many repairs will need to be component swaps but that's still better that replacing the complete item, plus the failed component can be returened to the supplier for recycling or reengineering.
Michael Ixer ● 1790d