A funding program for repairs launched on June 15 is very popular. Most of the repair bonuses were granted for cell phones, washing machines and dishwashers. Stefan Eisentraut, Project Manager Repair Bonus Thuringia, takes stock at our request.
According to the Global E-waste Monitor 2020 , every German produced almost 20 kilograms of electronic waste in 2019. At the same time, many consumers are stowing their old devices at home instead of properly disposing or recycling them. In the case of cell phones , for example, according to the Bitkom digital association, there were around 206 million devices in drawers. Neither is optimal from an ecological point of view, but at least the first aspect is easy to justify. In 57 percent of cases, a defect should be the reason for replacing electrical devices. However, repairs are often not worthwhile because the costs involved are too high. This is supposed to cushion a repair bonus.
FUNDING PROGRAM FOR REPAIRS
At the beginning of March , a directive entitled “Right to Repair” came into force in the EU , which is intended to ensure that electrical appliances can be repaired more easily and to reduce environmental pollution. The Thuringian Ministry for the Environment, Energy and Nature Conservation and the Thuringia Consumer Center are currently testing a different approach – with success.
Since June 15, 2021, consumers with their main residence in Thuringia can apply for a repair bonus of a maximum of 100 euros per household and year. This covers half of the repair costs and thus ensures a longer service life or useful life. On the other hand, the household budget of the consumer is relieved, because they are offered a cheaper alternative to new purchases.
REPAIR BONUS BUDGET HAS ALREADY BEEN USED UP TO 40 PERCENT
According to project manager Stefan Eisentraut, the repair bonus was very well received. Accordingly, around 2,200 applications have been received since the project started on June 15, of which 1,250 have already been processed. Only 25 applications were rejected. The costs of the transferred repair bonuses amount to 60,000 euros and thus correspond to 40 percent of the total budget of 150,000 euros made available for the funding project.
Most commonly repaired devices:
Cell phones: 191
Washing machines: 133
Dishwasher: 113
Coffee machines: 96
Electric stove / oven: 68
PC / laptop: 61
TV: 52
The repair bonus is currently a project that is unique in Germany. Those responsible want to support the willingness to repair and increase the useful life of the electrical devices by a proportionate reimbursement of the repair costs. The funding program is to be continued until the available funding has been used up. It is not yet known whether the model project will then be renewed or even expanded to other federal states.
