Environmental Audit Committee Chairman comments on Government announcement on electrical appliances

Commenting on the embargoed Government announcement that manufacturers will be required to make spare parts available for electrical appliances, Environmental Audit Committee Chairman, Rt Hon Philip Dunne MP, said:

“Cracking down on planned obsolescence in electrical items is key to tackling the e-waste tsunami, and I applaud the Government for taking this step. As our Committee highlighted during our recent e-waste inquiry, 155,000 tonnes of e-waste is chucked away in household bins by Brits every year – with no hope of salvaging the item or the precious metals they may contain. Often these metals are integral for Net Zero Britain: crucial for wind turbines, electric vehicles and solar panels.

“There should be no contest: consumers should have every right to fix items they own. Making spare parts available is the first step in creating a circular economy where we use, reuse and recycle products. We must stop using and disposing quite so much: we must take action if we are to protect the environment for generations to come.”