Page 23 from: January / February 2014

23January/February 2014

clers, like Umicore in Belgium. The precious

rare earths are mostly lost in the smelting slag.

Also, a lot of e-scrap is either landfilled or

exported. And where does it go? To Ghana or

Delhi, where they don’t know whether or not

some parts may still be reused. I’ve been to

these sites myself and I’ve seen how they treat

e-scrap; so much gets burned without consid-

eration, without taking anything apart. Hazard-

ous waste seeps into the environment – and all

because information is locked down.’

So what should be done to reduce the
growing volumes of e-scrap?
‘Everything you repair is one less piece of trash

added to the waste stream. So if we can double

the useful life of electronics, we can cut the

e-scrap problem in half. And to be honest, there

is no good reason for any device, say a mobile

phone, to have a battery that cannot be

replaced. We need to realise that if we don’t act

fast, we will lose the opportunity to fix our

devices now they still have economic value.’

Apart from ‘fixing is noble’, you’ve
written that ‘fixing is freedom’.
How so?
‘As we say at iFixit: “Defend your right to fix.”

After all, you wouldn’t buy a car if it were illegal

to replace the tyres, would you? But this is real-

ity for electronics. Manuals are extremely hard

to come by because, like I said, manufacturers

have created a monopoly on repair. They and

the designers are letting consumers down – even

more so by not realising sustainability is essen-

tial for their products.’

Do you think that leading electron-
ics manufacturers have learned the
importance of efficient repair and
disassembly?
‘Not by a long shot, though there are some

exceptions. Dell at least has service manuals

available and its design is reasonably solid. Still,

consumer-unfriendly design and planned

obsolescence remain big issues. Take my

iPhone, for example: after just 11 months and

no incidents whatsoever, it would no longer

switch on. Luckily, I know what to do and eas-

ily put in a new battery. That’s the thing, people

often aren’t aware of the possibilities – that elec-

tronics can be fixed with a US$10 part. Though

in the case of Apple, they would need to buy

specialised tools in order even to get inside the

device.’

What has been the most ‘fix-friendly’
gadget you have encountered and what
has been the most difficult piece of
equipment to tackle?
‘Motorola phones were previously very easy to

handle and I’d recommend the Samsung Gal-

axy any day. As for first prize in my personal

Hall of Shame, that goes to Apple’s Retina Mac-

Book Pro. It got a one out of 10 rating on the

iFixit repairability scale. Not only is its battery

glued to the case, the aluminium and glass are

also fused – similar to the recent iPad, which

recyclers I know have dubbed next to impos-

sible to recycle.’

It seems ultra-thin gadget design has
paved the way for nearly full integra-
tion of parts. How do you view this
phenomenon?
‘Gluing and screwing parts together may be

happening on a large scale, but it is not neces-

sary to ensure a slim design. The Amazon Kin-

dle eReader, for instance, is both thin and dura-

ble. So it is possible to take a different approach.

Obviously, Apple knows it is marketing an

unsustainable design.’

Yet you own an iPhone. Are you a critic
or a fan? Or both?
‘I see your point. Well, there are Apple products

that are decent. The iPhone is not that bad,

really. I replaced the battery in my phone in

under 10 seconds. Just avoid the Retina. And

remember, we vote with our wallets. If we keep

buying unsustainable products, that is what

they will keep making. We have to break this

cycle. At iFixit, we really want to help Apple

create better products. We have consumer

behaviour on our side; I can definitely see frus-

tration growing. I hope this will lead people to

demand more from manufacturers because it’s

up to the citizens of the world to decide where

we go from here. So will Apple change its ways?

That depends on the level of outrage.’

How do you feel about design for dis-
assembly and design for recycling?
‘It is a huge development that needs much more

attention. We desperately need more sensible,

sustainable products. For this to happen, the recy-

clers have to be more vocal. They know better than

anyone that resources are finite. Yet it seems we

have to communicate to them that they have to

be more politically active. iFixit is getting more

involved with legislation too, by the way. We are

starting in Europe where, I believe, sustainability

is more of a hot topic compared to the US.’

Have you ever experienced a fix-fail?
‘I’m always trying to repair all kinds of stuff, so

sure. Recently, I was working on the dryer. I felt

pretty confident going in but I ended up handing

quite a few parts in pieces to an e-scrap dealer I

know. The dryer was beyond saving at that point!

But at least I know the parts may serve a new pur-

pose. A new project of mine is fixing my truck.

Let’s just say I’ve been working on it for a while…’

What about future projects for iFixit?
‘We are taking on a more global view at the

moment. That’s why we’re translating the repair

guides we have created so far into Italian and

Dutch. The Dutch ones are already 70% done.

This is a big step for us; we started out with just

six English manuals exclusively for Apple prod-

ucts.’

Can you give us some details about
the growing iFixit community?
‘We’ve now got some 600 000 registered com-

munity members and, together, we cover any-

thing from cameras, computers and phones to

cars and household appliances in over 2500

repair guides. Thousands of people use the com-

munity every day. I’d say we help about 3 mil-

lion people all over the world – from New York

to Tibet – every month. I hope this will enable

us to stop the rampant throw-away culture

we’ve got going so that we don’t just help people

fix their devices but help people connect with

their stuff. To make it mean something.’

‘I can definitely see
consumer frustration

growing.’

Kyle Wiens: ‘Manufacturers
and designers are letting
consumers down’

Editor’s tip:
In the Laboratory offers a wider look at
technological independence – ‘Beating
planned obsolescence’, see page 49

For more information, visit: www.ifixit.org

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