Solid Waste

One day, three decisions -- all of which may have far-reaching effects on plastic pollution in the United States.

AUSTIN – Texas’ recycling rate of 22% is well below the 34% national average, according to a Trash in America:  Moving from Destructive Consumption to a Zero-Waste System, a new TexPIRG report detailing the effects of overconsumption in America, including water contamination, air pollution, habitat destruction, and global warming. The report also examines how good policies can minimize the proliferation of waste and incentivize reduction, repairs, reuse, recycling, and composting.

A new survey released by TexPIRG shows that interest in additional phone repair options surged as battery issues with iPhones made headlines.

Findings show that we throw out 33,300 phones each day in Texas, highlighting need for expanded access to repair.

AUSTIN, TEXAS -- A new survey released today by TexPIRG, “Recharge Repair,” found a surge in consumer demand for phone repair following the revelation Apple was slowing phones with older batteries. “Recharge Repair” identifies the barriers to battery replacement and phone repair that add to long repair delays for consumers. The findings support the need for Right to Repair reforms to grant consumers and third parties access to the parts and tools to repair cell phones and other electronics.

Among the findings were:

-       We surveyed 164 independent repair businesses nationally who reported a 37% increase in weekly battery replacement service requests since Dec. 20

-       Self-repair interest surged as well – traffic from Texas residents to iPhone battery repair instructions went up 141%. 14,297 people from Texas viewed instructions in between Dec. 20 and Jan. 22

-       eWaste is a growing concern. Texas throws out an estimated 33,300 cell phones per day, our share of the 141 million phones tossed each year.

“We should be free to fix our stuff,” said Bay Scoggin, TexPIRG director. “We should be working to reduce needless waste – repairing things that still have life -- but companies use their power to make things harder to repair. This survey shows that people are clearly looking for more options to repair their phones.”