Concern for the global climate has really increased over recent years, highlighted in the COP26 summit in Glasgow in November 2021. While the problems seem vast if not insurmountable, there are smaller things we can all do to contribute to a less wasteful world.
Hex has joined as a member of Right to Repair Europe, a campaign led by repair groups and environmentalists, among others, who seek the right to repair. Sounds simple, but sadly it’s not.
It’s becoming increasingly challenging to repair products we use every day, particularly laptops and mobile phones. The software on these devices is designed as a barrier to their repair. It can be difficult for independent repair centres like Hex to source spare parts from the limited supply offered by manufacturers, while ‘official’ manufacturer repairs are expensive. That’s definitely something to bear in mind when it comes time to buy your next device. Do you really want to buy from a company that would rather you ditch your old phone and buy a new one instead of repair it?
The Right to Repair campaign started in 2019 and already includes 40 organisations from more than 16 European countries aiming to remove barriers to repairing goods so they can have extended, useful lives. Too many products, from laptops to washing machines, now fail within five years. This has seen a huge increase in landfill, particularly phones and laptops which contribute to one of the fastest-growing areas of waste: e-waste.
Right to Repair confronts this throwaway mentality. It’s already implemented in France and legislation is being proposed to give consumers the choice to repair, and the choice where they repair, their device. Obsolescence is a design choice – there’s no reason why we can’t have a smartphone that works for ten years.
Will it make any difference? Well, doing nothing is no longer a choice. Reports indicate 150 million mobile phones are thrown away every year around the world. And that’s just phones. It’s not only their accumulation in landfill that’s of concern – the minerals and metals in devices create toxic waste as they deteriorate.
At Hex, we care about our customers and looking after their devices. The longer we can make those devices last, the better for all of us.
© Copyright 2026 HEX Edinburgh. Computer & Phone Repair Center.
