Waste

When your phone screen cracks or your laptop battery dies, the default is often to replace it. But a growing legal movement is making repair a realistic option—and community repair events can help you put that right to use.

Starting September 1, Texas became the ninth state to guarantee the right to repair consumer electronics, joining California, Colorado, Connecticut, Kansas, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, and Washington. The Texas Right to Repair Act (HB 2963) requires manufacturers of covered electronics to provide parts, tools, and manuals to consumers and independent repair shops. The law passed unanimously in the Texas Legislature: 130-0 in the House and 31-0 in the Senate.

What does that mean for you? If you live in Texas, manufacturers of consumer electronics costing more than $50 wholesale must offer documentation, tools, and replacement parts on fair and reasonable terms with non-discriminatory pricing. They must retain and provide repair documentation for three years for items priced $50-$99.99, and seven years for products priced $100 or more. The law covers devices such as phones, laptops, tablets, cameras, and speakers—but it excludes video game consoles, home appliances, medical devices, motor vehicles, farm equipment, and industrial or aerospace equipment.

The bill drew support from Environment Texas, TexPIRG, Texas Public Policy Foundation, Repair.org, and independent repair shops. Repair.org, which backed the Texas law, also maintains a directory of repair businesses and events—a good place to start looking for a repair café near you.

If you cannot find a repair café nearby, consider starting one. A community center, library, or place of worship can host a monthly event where volunteers with basic skills help neighbors fix small electronics and other items. Keep it simple: a table, a few volunteers with screwdrivers and multimeters, and a rule that nothing is repaired under pressure—the goal is to teach, not to guarantee a fix.

Before you start, check what your state guarantees. If you live in one of the nine states with a right-to-repair law, you can ask manufacturers directly for parts and manuals, which makes volunteer repairs more feasible. If you live outside those states, you can still organize a repair event, but volunteers may face difficulty obtaining parts for newer electronics.

A repair café does not solve the systemic problem of planned obsolescence, but it does extend the life of the items you already own, which reduces waste and saves money. And it cannot fix everything: the Texas law excludes video game consoles, home appliances, and medical devices, so those items may still require a manufacturer’s service.

What you can do today: Search Repair.org’s directory for a repair café near you, or ask your local library whether it hosts or knows of a fix-it event. If none exists, contact a nearby community center about hosting a monthly repair gathering—and bring your own broken item to the first one.

Starting September 1, Texas becomes the ninth state to guarantee the right to repair consumer electronics, joining California, Colorado, Connecticut, Kansas, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, and Washington. The Texas Right to Repair Act (HB 2963) requires manufacturers of covered electronics to provide parts, tools, and manuals to consumers and independent repair shops — and it passed unanimously: 130-0 in the House and 31-0 in the Senate.

The law covers devices such as phones, laptops, tablets, cameras, and speakers. It explicitly excludes video game consoles, home appliances, medical devices, motor vehicles, farm equipment, and industrial or aerospace equipment. So before you assume a repair right applies, check what category your device falls into.

For covered products, the obligations are specific. Manufacturers of consumer electronics costing more than $50 wholesale must offer documentation, tools, and replacement parts on fair and reasonable terms with non-discriminatory pricing. They must retain and provide repair documentation for three years for items priced $50-$99.99, and seven years for products priced $100 or more.

Several costs are eliminated. Repair documentation and schematics must be provided at no charge to owners and independent shops. Board-level schematics are required — and, per the law’s supporters, they do not reveal trade secrets. Diagnostic software must be provided at no additional charge, and firmware must be provided at no additional charge for restoring product function. Proprietary physical tools must be sold on fair and reasonable terms; commonly available tools need not be provided.

There are also procedural protections. Manufacturers cannot require a serial number or proof of purchase to provide a part. Parts pairing is banned in multiple states when used to prevent repair. And Right to Repair laws do not impose design requirements — manufacturers remain free to design products as they choose, as long as they make repair materials available afterward.

Some states go further than Texas on one point: New York, Minnesota, Oregon, and Colorado do not permit a manufacturer to offer a replacement product instead of repair materials. Texas’s law does not include that restriction, so a manufacturer there could still substitute a replacement in some cases.

The Texas bill drew support from Environment Texas, TexPIRG, the Texas Public Policy Foundation, Repair.org, and independent repair shops — a coalition spanning consumer, environmental, and free-market groups.

States have led the Right to Repair movement, passing laws and forcing the issue. Advocates argue that voluntary programs are not a substitute for enforceable rights. That argument extends beyond consumer electronics: the Repair Association has submitted a letter to the Senate Armed Services Committee voicing full support for S.2209, the Military Right to Repair bill, which would guarantee the military’s right to repair equipment they purchase, eliminating unnecessary repair monopolies.

Not everyone agrees that legislation is the right path. The Alaska Farm Bureau argued that private-sector memoranda of understanding with agricultural equipment manufacturers should be allowed to prove themselves and serve as a model. In Alaska, where HB 162 would give residents more practical access to parts, tools, and information, opponents argued that the state’s geography makes repair hard — and that Right to Repair will not magically solve the logistics of parts, technicians, and distance.

What you can do now: Before you buy a covered device, check whether the manufacturer offers parts and manuals at fair prices. If you can’t find that information, ask the retailer when the Texas law’s terms will apply to that product. After September 1, you can also test the law: request a part or manual for a covered device and see whether the manufacturer complies with the no-charge documentation and fair-pricing requirements.

If you’ve ever stood over a bin wondering whether a greasy pizza box belongs in recycling, you’re not alone. Recycling rules vary by city and change often, leaving many residents confused. But there’s a reason for the shifting landscape: recycling systems are adapting to new laws, market demands, and the push for more sustainable materials.

One major driver is legislation. For example, Texas recently passed the Right to Repair Act, which takes effect September 1. This law requires manufacturers of covered electronics to provide parts, tools, and manuals to consumers and independent repair shops, making it easier to fix devices instead of replacing them. This is part of a broader trend: Texas is the ninth state to adopt such a law, joining California, Colorado, Connecticut, Kansas, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, and Washington. By supporting repair, these laws aim to reduce electronic waste, which often ends up in recycling streams or landfills.

Another factor is the growing emphasis on textile recycling. Less than 1% of the global fiber market comes from pre- and post-consumer recycled textiles, according to Textile Exchange’s 2025 Materials Market report. To address this, companies like Valérius 360 in Portugal are developing processes to recycle textile waste. They use 80% post-industrial and 20% post-consumer feedstock, preferring 100% cotton and sorting by color and composition. Recycled fibers shorter than 8-9 millimeters are not used to ensure quality, and white fibers are processed separately from colored ones to avoid contamination. These fibers are then blended with virgin fibers and spun into yarns, while shorter fibers are turned into cotton paper using only water and enzymes. Such innovations could eventually influence what materials your city accepts for recycling.

Certifications also play a role. Textile Exchange’s standards system, which includes over 30 third-party certification bodies auditing more than 100,000 sites globally, ensures traceability and compliance. These standards are developed with public input and are open to any organization in the supply chain. Certification bodies are accredited to ISO 17065, an internationally recognized standard, and have procedures for non-compliance, including suspensions or withdrawals. When you see a certification label, it means the product meets specific criteria—but it doesn’t mean the item is infinitely recyclable or that your local facility will accept it.

So, how do you keep up with changing rules? The key is to check your local guidelines regularly, as they can update based on new laws and market conditions. Look for official city or county websites, which often provide current lists of accepted materials. When in doubt, ask your local waste management department directly. And remember, reducing waste in the first place—by repairing electronics or choosing products with certified recycled content—can lessen the burden on recycling systems.

Starting September 1, Texans gain the right to repair their own electronics. The Texas Right to Repair Act (HB 2963) requires manufacturers of covered electronics to provide parts, tools, and manuals to consumers and independent repair shops. Texas is the ninth state to adopt such a law, joining California, Colorado, Connecticut, Kansas, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, and Washington.

The law covers devices like phones, laptops, tablets, cameras, and speakers. It excludes video game consoles, home appliances, medical devices, motor vehicles, farm equipment, and industrial or aerospace equipment. If you’re repairing a phone or laptop, you’re covered; if you’re fixing a console or a fridge, you’re not.

Manufacturers of consumer electronics costing more than $50 wholesale must offer documentation, tools, and replacement parts on fair and reasonable terms with non-discriminatory pricing. They must provide repair documentation and schematics at no charge, including board-level schematics—which do not reveal trade secrets. Diagnostic software and firmware for restoring product function must also be provided at no additional charge.

Proprietary physical tools must be sold on fair and reasonable terms, but commonly available tools need not be provided. Manufacturers cannot require a serial number or proof of purchase to provide a part. They must retain and provide repair documentation for three years for items priced $50–$99.99, and seven years for products priced $100 or more.

Parts pairing—using software to prevent a replacement part from working unless it’s approved by the manufacturer—is banned in multiple states when used to prevent repair. The law does not impose design requirements, so manufacturers don’t have to change how they build products, but they can’t block repairs with software locks.

In some states, including New York, Minnesota, Oregon, and Colorado, manufacturers cannot offer a replacement product instead of repair materials. Texas’s law, passed unanimously in the legislature (130-0 in the House, 31-0 in the Senate), drew support from Environment Texas, TexPIRG, Texas Public Policy Foundation, Repair.org, and independent repair shops.

Right to Repair laws are now active in states representing over a third of the U.S. market, according to a supplier statement. Environment Texas and TexPIRG expect the law to reduce e-waste and save consumers money. TexPIRG estimates Texas produces roughly 621,000 tons of e-waste annually—an estimated figure.

Exclusions for specific industries are inconsistent and unlikely to hold up long-term, according to a supplier statement. That means the scope of coverage may expand in the future.

Repair cafés are community events where volunteers help you fix broken items — from toasters to trousers — for free. They’re growing across the US, yet many people don’t know they exist. Here’s what they can do, what they can’t, and how to get involved.

The timing is good. States representing over a third of the US market now have active Right to Repair laws, which require manufacturers to provide parts and information. That legal shift makes it easier for repair events to succeed — volunteers can actually get the components they need instead of hitting a wall of proprietary restrictions.

The stakes are real. Material extraction is expected to rise by 60 per cent by 2060, and extraction of Earth’s natural resources has already tripled in the past five decades. Rich countries use six times more resources than low-income ones, and generate 10 times the climate impacts. Repairing what you own is one way to push back — but it’s not a cure-all.

A repair café won’t fix everything. Some items need proprietary parts or tools that even skilled volunteers can’t source. And the environmental benefit depends on what you repair: fixing a small appliance saves less than repairing a large one. The honest takeaway is that repair cafés are a practical tool, not a systemic fix — and that’s okay.

To find one, search online for “repair café near me” or check your local library’s event calendar. If none exists, ask a community center, church, or school about hosting a monthly pop-up. You don’t need to be a professional — repair cafés typically welcome volunteers with basic skills like sewing, soldering, or woodworking.

Before you go, check what the event covers. Many repair cafés limit items to electronics, clothing, and small furniture. Bring your item, and be ready to learn — most events encourage you to watch and help, not just drop off and leave. If a repair isn’t possible, ask the volunteers what to do with the item; they often know local recyclers or parts donors.

The global picture is sobering: close to $7 trillion is invested each year in activities with a direct negative impact on nature, roughly 7 per cent of global GDP. Repairing one item won’t change that, but it does reduce demand for new products — a step in the right direction.

What you can’t conclude from this is that repair cafés alone can solve waste problems. They work best when paired with other habits — buying durable goods, borrowing instead of buying, and recycling properly.

So start small: find a repair café, bring one broken item, and see what happens. You might leave with a working toaster — and a new skill. That’s the real value: not just fixing things, but learning that fixing is possible. And that’s a lesson no manufacturer can take away from you.