OPINION: Recycle and repair is good for economy and people

It is so obvious, why didn’t I think of it before? That was my first reaction after learning of an initiative before Congress to require automobile companies to provide manuals and parts to its customers to enable them to repair their own cars.

Why does Congress have to act on this? Because manufacturers and dealers don’t seem to have gotten the message that reducing access to their manuals and parts does not help their own customers, or please them. Introduced by sponsoring Democrats and Republicans, the REPAIR Act would ensure that all repairers, commercial and personal, were able to get relevant manuals, tools and parts.

Independent auto repair shops need that access to repair cars, and individuals should be able to repair their own vehicles. As one sponsor said, “DIY is in our DNA.” People should be encouraged to repair their own things and should be provided the knowledge to do so.

It would keep small businesses healthy by making sure they have the repair manuals, the digital and cyber information, and the specialized tools they need. Especially in the West, a trip to a dealer in a large city many miles away is out of the question if your car doesn’t work. Having driven everything from Hudsons to Saabs, I know the challenges of not having someone local who can repair your car.

While congressional action has been stymied by corporate lobbyists, states have stepped in to provide help for small businesses and do-it-yourselfers. A law to require automakers to provide telemetrics and instructions to auto repair shops and individuals was approved by 70% of Massachusetts voters in 2020. This year 20 states are considering different forms of “right-to-repair” legislation covering various equipment from cellphones to tractors. Maine has one on the ballot this fall.

Manufacturing groups have been fighting the trend, maintaining that it is unsafe for untrained technicians and individuals to repair automobiles. Harvard Business Review recently ran an article citing the journal Management Science that found that “unintended consequences” would cause manufacturers to lower prices on cheaper goods, which in turn would mean more newer products sold and therefore more waste. Certainly one “unintended consequence” is that the authors tied themselves into knots making their argument.

This is not only about cars. Towns across the region have their own Wasankari Construction that provides used construction and landscaping materials for Moscow residents. Its business has grown over the year as more and more families are involved in improving their homes with recycled materials. Cities have realized the benefit to their residents of reusing materials, as it reduces landfill, saves on the use of natural materials and reduces the energy used to make new products. Portland now requires buildings built before 1917 be deconstructed for materials, rather than demolished.

While there is a proliferation of businesses recycling materials, there also is successful, nonprofit Habitat for Humanity stores in Lewiston, Moscow and other regional towns supplying used materials from furniture to doors to tile. They not only support DIY projects, but also use their profits and volunteer labor to build houses for those in need.

Let’s support local businesses, let’s support competition, let’s support repair rather than replace and let’s support manufacturers making things that last rather than consumed and pitched. Doing so will be giving your neighbors work at their repair shops or be stimulating people to learn how to fix things themselves.

Building strong and diversified local economies is essential for the survival of small towns in the West. It is wonderful to have cheaper cars and other goods as the result of economies of scale. It is not so wonderful to have companies use their power to hamstring our local businesses in the quest of restricting competition.

Lengthening the life of products is win-win: It is cheaper on the pocketbook because we replace equipment less often; it has less impact on the climate because we throw away fewer goods; and we create more local jobs in repair businesses.

Nelson lives in Moscow where he volunteers for the Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre and supports libraries.