The Death of the Local Repairer?

China is the world-leading producer of gallium and germanium which is a vital element required to make Electrical Goods, Chip making, Communications and Electric Vehicles.
About 95% of all gallium produced is used to make gallium arsenide (GaAs), a compound used in microwave and infrared circuits, semiconductors and blue and violet LEDs. The compound gallium nitride (GaN) is used as a semiconductor in Blu-ray technology, mobile phones and pressure sensors for touch switches. There are no substitutes for its use in some products and FYI Gallium is not currently recyclable.
Anyone wanting to Export the materials from 1st of August 2023 will need to apply for licences from the Chinese Government. They will have to report who buyers are around the world and are also likely to increase the prices, as it’s a certainty that they are looking after their own.
The US and Japan Governments are likely to continue restrictions on Chip making equipment, so what we see now is the real battle front unfolding around the globe.
In the UK we don’t have the luxury of such mineral mining and as such it’s vital that we retain the products we use and the materials when they reach end of life. Gallium is not recyclable but parts are also crucial to keep existing products in use. This means goods we buy in from the EU and China will become more expensive and increase our dependency on other countries.
These metals are not found naturally. They are in fact by products of processes related to Zinc production and they are used extensively in the Military, Lasers, Radars, Microwaves, Mobile Phones, Blu Ray Tech and pressure sensors. Creating new mines is a process of up to 15 years of planning till operational and the EU policies are now calling for hundreds of new mines to meet its future demands. There is extensive harm to the environment just creating and operating these mines, so we need to start to engage in lowering consumption, waste prevention, making goods easier to repair and treasuring the value of goods we purchase.
Working with EEESafe and by Registering your Appliances with us, we can build infrastructure at local levels, within a Circular Economy Framework. Some of the benefits are:
- Making homes safer by using EEESafe Repairers and Prevent online sales of known Product Recalls/Counterfeits
- Increase Social and Environmental values and comparing metrics over hundreds of communities who engage by registering.
- Lower Repair costs by removing parts that are wanted by repairers and consumers and creating a local supply chain.
- Lower debt ratios by offering repaired goods locally and reducing the credit burden of online finance purchases.
- Delivering more local jobs instead of shipping goods away when you purchase new items.
- Prevent everything ending up in Recycling Centres where contractors are sold items to 3rd parties who take them miles away.
In our LocalitEEE Platform will be donating regular amounts of £100 to citizens who need it, providing you’ve Registered at least one Appliance and use our Electricals Marketplace.
Take a look at how our Safety Register Links into your own Community Marketplace
Thanks to ing.com for further information.
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