Earth Day is celebrated on April 22. Since we have already heavily polluted our only place for living, mostly because of consumerism, we urge you to repair and not buy new electronic devices, you can save money and at the same time you contribute to the conservation of the planet and the workplaces as well.

With the advancement of technology many appliances have almost completely disappeared, there is a gap at the market and at some repair workshops, as well as the disappearance of some products that we no longer use, such as radio cassette players, video recorders, CD and DVD players. Other technological factors and relatively low purchase prices have resulted in a drastic reduction in the volume of work and servicing, which led many craftsmen to close workshops and as a final result – retraining”, said Zoran Stašević, head of the RTV mechanics section at the Zagreb Craftsman Association. Stašević has been repairing the TVs and other electronic devices for 30 years now, and says that he fell in love with the job at first glance.

“I was about ten years old when the TV mechanic engineer came to our house for the first time to repair the TV. When he opened the TV, it was like entering another world and I was immediately sure I wanted to do the same. After graduating from the high school, I started working as a mechanic engineer when only 18. I have been working in this field for more than 30 years, and for the last 20 years I have my own workshop”, says Stašević, who has spent the last four years organizing promotional and educational campaign with colleagues from the Association of Craftsmen with the support of the City of Zagreb’s Crafts Chamber. On the Earth Day for four years, he has been educating people to break the prejudice about not needing to fix the old devices and trying to teach people that as soon as the old device fails you should not immediately buy a new one.

Stašević explains how to evaluate whether or not to repair a particular device: “It depends on the type of failure and if you can repair your device with your hands or to need to change the entire circuit or module in your device. The price also depends on the nature of the repair. Mostly, repairs are in between 400 to 500 kunas. These are mostly repairs related to backlighting in LED screens and power module repairs. If we take into consideration that the appliance has been paid 2000 or 3000 kunas it is understandable that in that case the repair will be worthwhile. There are also more expensive failures, but they are related to devices that have higher technological and economic value. It is also necessary to consider the engineer’s own judgment whether or not the device is worth of repair”.

Stašević points out that the goal of the educational campaign “Do not throw away your electronic device!” is to make people aware that we should try to save every appliance before throwing it away, as this saves the environment from unnecessary electronic waste, reduces costs (repair is much cheaper than the purchase of a new appliance) and ultimately saves jobs. It is no longer a secret that manufacturers also make products that immediately after the warranty expire. “Programmed breakdowns from the technological side are very possible for at least two reasons. The first is that the electronics that control a device can be programmed to break or destroy itself after a while, and the second is to use inferior materials with a specified shelf life. In view of the above, it may be possible to predict the life of a product or device in its entirety. Working with one brand and manufacturer for many years has seen a setback in the quality of workmanship, and globalisation contributes to this. It is known that most electronic devices are manufactured in China today, so buying a sound and famous name for a brand of device does not guarantee its origin, and therefore in some cases quality”, explains Stašević. Everyone who cares about the ecology and state of their own wallet, on the web page of the City of Zagreb’s Craftsman’s Association, can find engineers who will repair their broken devices.