How to minimize e-waste and create incentives for repairs of smart electronics?
E-waste is the fastest growing waste stream globally. To mitigate the negative impact that e-waste has on the environment, the EU is currently drafting legislation for a Right to Repair (R2R) to incentivize and facilitate repair.
IVAs 100-lista 2023
Given that an ever-increasing group of electronic devices is becoming connected and “smart”, R2R needs to concern both material (screws, batteries, etc.) and digital (software and data) repair in order to have real bite.
Our VR-funded cross-disciplinary project (2023-26) studies how the term repair is enacted in relation to software and the digital R2R. This is done with methods from social science, law, and sustainable ICT design. The main benefit of the project is that it adresses the problem of a smart phone that in principle still "works" (hardware), but still ends up in a bin or gathering dust in a drawer because it does not support new apps, does not any longer receive software updates, etc.
Research team
Sebastian Abrahamsson, Docent och forskare, Sociologiska institutionen, Uppsala universitet (huvudansvarig)
Per Fors, Biträdande lektor, Industriell teknik, Uppsala universitet, Katja de Vries, Biträdande lektor, Juridiska institutionen, Uppsala universitet
