Pacifica Group, the leading UK domestic energy and appliance services provider, has welcomed the news that government plans to tackle electrical waste by introducing new legislation encouraging homeowners to fix their appliances rather than replace them.
Following an announcement from the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, white goods will be guaranteed to last longer, with appliance parts available for up to ten years. New models will also have to be built with parts that can be repaired with the use of commonly available tools, tackling premature obsolescence and reducing the amount of items being sent to landfill.
The national home services company believes that, in addition to addressing electrical waste reduction, the proposals, which will come into effect from the summer, are positive news for the appliance repair industry, and will lead to the need to train and recruit more people.
Through its Appliance Services Division, Pacifica Group – one of the UK’s largest providers of home services – employs around 300 engineers across the country, undertaking 310,000 appliance repair home visits every year, equating to 6,000 every week. Pacifica expects to increase its recruitment and training of appliance engineers to support the new legislation.
The company works closely with a number of appliance manufacturers such Electrolux, Sony, Hisense, Vestel, Howdens (Lamona) and LG along with major retailers, such as Argos and Shop Direct, and insurance providers to provide repair and maintenance services across the UK.
Pacifica Group, which has long been concerned by the environmental impact of throwing away broken appliances, already has a recycling partnership with North East-based GAP Waste, preventing domestic refrigerators being sent to landfill by utilising technology that recycles 99.9 percent of the appliances’ components.
The process involves stripping fridges of parts, including gas-filled compressors, with the shells fed into GAP’s recycling plant where there are crushed and separated into a range of metal and plastic materials that can be recycled for other uses.
Kevin Brown, CEO of Pacifica Group, said: “We welcome the news that government plans to introduce new laws that will see the amount of electrical waste reduced.
“Landfill is a growing problem for the world, with high levels of methane gas and CO2 generated by rotting rubbish, contributing to climate change.
“The onus is on companies to produce goods that are not only better quality but can be easily fixed. If parts are readily available and we can repair with commonly available tools, homeowners will be able to have them repaired rather than be forced to replace, saving money.
“This is also great news for the appliance repair industry, as well as the positive environment impact for the planet, as it will no doubt lead to the need to recruit and train more people.”
