🚀 go-pugleaf

That is exactly the sort of thing I would like to see.  It may be an
administrative nightmare.  Mind you it may be easy with these modern
computer things (haha).  Need to have the system audited by independent
people to keep things honest.

This system means you can bowl up to the manufacturer and say "Here is
my gizmo. Please give me my refund."
If the refund is to low individuals may not have there goods returned to
the manufacturer but a third party may do this.  The rubbish disposal
companies, local government, repair or recycling companies may well
stockpile items for return.  This will force manufacturer to produce
QUALITY goods.  There is no reason a laser printer, computer monitor, TV
etc. cannot last 10 years.  Technology moves rapidly but some things
remain the same.  Television broadcast specs have not changed.  A 40
year old black and white TV will still work!  Oops bad example - who
wants to watch a black and white TV!  It will still have the same muck
as on a colour TV!!!!!!

I am looking at electric equip in particular but as you realise the same
can be done for deck chairs, cars, clothes racks, toys, bottles, those
little plastic stickers on fruit that turn up at the bottom of the
compost bin, disposable pens.......


berdpee@ami.com.au wrote:
> 
> Hello Alan,
> 
> I have been proposing for years an equipment disposal tax, which
> should be applied to EVERY manufactured item. It works like this:  The
> tax is paid by the manufacturer when the item is produced, the longer
> the life of the item the greater is the proportion of the tax refunded
> when the item has to be disposed of. Thus a quality product which
> lasts say 40 years might get a refund of 90% whereas a product which
> lasted 5 years would only get a refund of 5%.  After all why should
> the taxpayer have to shoulder the cost of disposal of manufactured
> items?
> 
>  On Wed, 24 Apr 2002 10:35:38 +1200, Alan Liefting
> <aliefting@ihug.co.nz> wrote:
> 
> >Copied to these newsgroups for comment.
> >
> >
> >I am an electronics service technician who has worked in the industry
> >for 20 years.  I have seen a number of changes over that time.  I am
> >also a concerned environmentalist.
> >
> >As a technician my job is made more difficult for reasons I will
> >outline.  The cost of electronics consumer items which I service has
> >reduced over the years as a result of removal of tariffs, mass
> >production and globalised trade especially with countries which have
> >lower labour rates.  These same countries have poor environmental and
> >social protection policies.  Since the consumer products are cheap to
> >buy they are less likely to repaired when they fail.  Manufacturers are
> >becoming more reluctant to supply replacement spare parts for the
> >servicing industry.  If parts are available they tend to be quite
> >expensive.  Quite often this makes the goods uneconomic to repair.
> >Manufacturers are also closing some of their authorised service centres
> >for the products.  This makes it more difficult for the customers to
> >have the goods repaired.  Recently I discovered that at least one New
> >Zealand division of a major electronics company has shifted its spare
> >parts supply warehouse to Australia.  As an aside the parts currently in
> >the warehouse were discarded since it was uneconomic to ship them to
> >Australia.  I have a suspicion that this may cause more difficulties for
> >the electronic servicing trade.  I am sure it would take the service out
> >of the electronics service industry.
> >

 etc...