It’s no secret. We are a throw away society. We no longer rush into stores on Black Friday, but type in a few words and are given the chance to buy anything our heart desires. This means we are producing billions of tons of waste every year.

This is causing bloat on our planet and filling our landfills. And the problem is manufacturers don’t want you to fix them. Fortunately more and more rogue people are out there teaching you how to repair your household items, a trend that could help us reduce the impacts of climate change and save money.

There is no lack of statistics on the amount of waste we produce every day.

• Every minute, 3,825 tons of municipal waste are produced and collected.

• According to the Global Waste Management Outlook 2024, trash will increase by nearly 2 billion tons and hit 3.8 billion tons by 2050.

• Fast fashion produces 92 million tons of waste annually on a global scale.

• Around 39,000 coffee pods are produced every minute globally, and 29,000 end up in landfills.

• 62 million tons of electronic waste was generated in 2022, enough to form an unbroken line from New York to Athens, from Nairobi to Hanoi, or from Hong Kong to Anchorage.

• 4.6 million tons of electronic waste in the small IT and telecommunication equipment category (e.g., smart phones).

• 2.4 million tons of expected mass of retired photovoltaic panels in 2030.

• $165 billion tons of food are thrown out each year in the U.S.

Rise of the Throw Away Society

Throw away society boomed after World War II ended in 1945. After years of rationing, thrifting, and doing without, American society enjoyed the increased consumerism that came with the mass production and wide availability of goods in the postwar years.

The term "throw away society" first appeared in an issue of Life Magazine in 1955 to indicate a positive new lifestyle marketed as reducing work around the house.

Since the 1960s, manufacturers have been marketing disposable products as a convenience that will solve all of our problems. In fact, manufacturing entities spent an estimated $351 billion in advertising in 2023 to get you to. buy more.

Manufacturers sadly make it so you will need to replace your purchases after a certain time. Planned obsolescence is when a product is designed with the intention of breaking or needing to be replaced in a few years. While many people would be familiar with planned obsolescence because of their smart phones (Apple was fined $27 million in 2020 for slowing down older phones through mandatory operating system updates), the practice dates back to the 1920s when a General Motors executive suggested rolling out new models each year to keep sales moving.

The Rise of the Fix It Society

More and more people are realizing that they can fix their household items, an effort that builds skills, saves money, and reduces pollution.

In the European Union, Parliament adopted a position of a stronger “right to repair” for consumers. Right to repair requires manufacturers to provide owners and independent repair businesses with fair access to service information and affordable replacement parts. Right to repair laws have passed recently in California, Oregon, Minnesota, New York, and Colorado.

Fix-it clinics are popping up around the world. Fortunately you can also track down online fixit clinics where you can repair anything from toothbrushes to clothes to baby items. I personally love the work of “I Fix It” where you can find step by step instructions on how to repair a range of products you have in your home.

If you want to repair appliances without the cost of a new one, you have to check out Scott the Fix-it Guy on Youtube.

I also like Toolbox DIY’s videos for repairing electronics. As he says if you replace your electronics or power cord and you could fix it, they win (they being the manufacturers).

Okay last one. The iDoctor UK thinks he is hilarious with his sing songy attitude. And maybe he is but I am here to learn how to fix something. This time he is sharing how to fix your iPhone, but don’t tell Apple because we know they will be mad or maybe try out some more greenwashing strategies.