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Another way to to start making stuff that will last, like they used to.

No more planned obsolescence.

Build washers and dryers, and refrigerators and stove to actually LAST more than 15 years.

Make parts available so people can repair instead of replace.

Build washers and dryers, and refrigerators and stove to actually LAST more than 15 years.
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I dream of those days. My last stove lasted 11 years, but for its last 3 years it no longer had the self clean feature. Elements lasted about 2-3 years. The restraints for the top element burned thru in about 9 years and even with self clean, one spot on the bottom rusted (or maybe burned) thru in 5 years.

Don’t even get me started on washing machines. 6 years is my record over the past 18.
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Make parts available so people can repair instead of replace.
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Parts are available. A simple timer switch on a traditional washer is $240 with the labor....about $120+ just for the part. (entire machine cost around $600)

Oven elements are $35.

DH just replaced a simple thermocouple on a wall furnace. Affordable and simple, once he discovered the problem. However, the pilot on the thing is designed so an entire layer of parts (I know nothing) must be removed first and then the person doing the repair must somehow sink 6” into the floor or be a child contortionist to be able to freaking reach the pilot.

I’ve decided that engineers are just protecting their own jobs.

What brands have you owned that lasted 15 years? My Speed Queen electric dryer is on year 11 or 12 and doing fine. It has only needed one electronic part replaced, ever, and the tech was able to jury-rig it while we waited for delivery so I could use it, sort of.

(Note & caveat: I abuse washers and dryers, using them in my business in ways not imagined by the engineers. Given that, Speed Queen gets top marks.)

With automated factories, it is much cheaper and more efficient to throw away bottles and other items, rather than repair or recycle.

It simply costs more to repair an item than to manufacture the latest item, with all the upgrades, off the automated assembly line.

Human labor is simply too expensive to spend on repairs.

Cars last much longer than they used to. Most things last longer.

I can buy an excellent shovel for $10. A handle to replace a broken one costs nearly that much, leaving only a dollar to pay for the half an hour or more it costs to repair it.

Our technology has simply moved to a place, where a great many repairs are inefficient and a waste of human time and energy.

The time and energy it costs to place a heaver bottle back into the system, costs more than simply making and using a new, lighter bottle.