The European Commission today adopted rules to make household appliances easier to repair and recycle, consume less energy, and extend their lifespan, aiming to reduce emissions of polluting gases.
Refrigerators, dishwashers and washing machines, televisions and monitors, power supplies, electric motors, retail refrigerators, transformers and welding machines are the products that, starting in 2021, will have to be on the market under the new rules.
Among these benefits are the guarantee of having spare parts available for a minimum of seven to ten years after purchase, the ability to deliver them quickly, and the possibility of assembling them without the need for special tools or the risk of damaging the equipment during repair.
Manufacturers will also have to provide repair manuals for both professionals and consumers.
In the case of washing machines and dryers, they should consume 711 million cubic meters less per year by 2030.
The director of the European Consumer Association, Monique Goyens, commented that it is essential to abandon the "throwaway culture," which depletes natural resources and empties consumers' pockets.
The head of the European Commission for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness, Jyrki Katainen, stated that the measures “could save European households an average of 150 euros per year and contribute to energy savings equivalent to Denmark's total annual consumption in 2030”.
This economy will prevent the emission of 46 million tons of gases such as carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, contributing to "a fully decarbonized European Union by 2050".
The director of the European association of the household appliance industry, Paolo Falcioni, stressed that "market supervisory authorities need sufficient resources and coordination to face new difficulties in verifying compliance with the law."
These measures are in addition to the new rules adopted in March of this year for energy efficiency labels on products, which are expected to achieve savings of 150 million tons of oil by 2020 – equivalent to Italy's primary energy consumption – and €285 per year for consumers.
2019-10-03