European activists fight for right to repair electronics

By JAMES BROOKS
Associated Press

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Workshops where non-professionals with a bug for fixing things can share equipment and experience with each other as well as the less handy are held on a regular basis in Denmark. The non-profit Repair Café Denmark stages up to 15 weekly “repair cafes” where volunteer repairers disassemble and diagnose an assortment of inoperable electronics for free. They and their customers are each doing their part for the environment one broken blender or laptop at a time. The Danish events are part of an international movement calling for the “right to repair” in response to the expense and environmental cost of personal electronics and appliances becoming obsolete within a few years.