REPAIRABLE ELECTRONICS

more than 400,000 cellphones every single day, and global consumers produce more than 53 million metric tons of electronic waste each year.—is lobbying state legislatures to introduce bills empowering consumers to modify or repair (rather than discard) their own devices and machines; manufacturers now block modification of products ranging from smartphones to tractors. The campaign has gradually been gaining momentum since it succeeded in pushing legislation through the Massachusetts statehouse in 2012; last year more than 20 states were considering new right-to-repair bills. “We are like a band of Davids versus an army of Goliaths,” says Nathan Proctor, director of U.S. PIRG. “But we have an idea people immediately respond to.”