Thuringia’s state repair bonus for broken electrical appliances arouses interest from environmentally conscious consumers. Half a month after the start in mid-June, 428 applications had already been submitted, the Ministry of the Environment announced on request in Erfurt. Of these, 266 applications were decided, only nine were rejected.
Exceeded expectations
In total, the state has so far contributed more than 19,200 euros to repair bills for electrical appliances. The new program, with which Thuringia’s Ministry of the Environment wants to counter the throw-away mentality, provides for a cost sharing for the repair of washing machines, refrigerators or laptops, for example. If you have your electrical device repaired instead of disposing of it, you will be reimbursed half of the repair costs – up to a one-off payment of up to 100 euros per person this year.
“The interest exceeds my expectations,” said Environment Minister Anja Siegesmund (Greens) about the applications since the start. “If the cell phone or the old sewing machine still works, but the repairs are disproportionately high, our bonus helps.” There is now interest in the program from other federal states, said the Green politician. “North Rhine-Westphalia and Baden-Württemberg asked us.” Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate reported to the Thuringian consumer center, which implements the program for the ministry and checks the bills and receipts submitted by consumers.
An average of 75 euros bonus granted
According to initial experience, the average repair cost per case was 150 euros, for which a repair bonus of 75 euros was granted, the ministry said. When it comes to the age of the devices, there is an accumulation of the date of purchase between 2016 and 2018. But an electric sewing machine from the GDR era was also among them.
According to the ministry, the bonus was most often used to repair coffee machines and vending machines, dishwashers, washing machines, cell phones and electric stoves. Regionally, most of the applications have come from Erfurt and the districts of Schmalkalden-Meiningen, Gotha, Weimarer Land and the Wartburg district. According to the Ministry of the Environment, the amount of electronic waste has been growing by three to five percent each year.
(kbe)
