There are a lot of things to love about USB-C rechargeable batteries. Not needing to toss them away after a single use like alkalines is at the top of the list. We had a parallel thought that having the mentality to fix things is similar to switching from single-use to rechargeable batteries in several ways.
A lot of our customers have made the switch to USB-C batteries because they share our vision of keeping alkaline batteries out of landfills and want to use less resources in their daily lives. They agree that throwing millions of such batteries in the trash every year is completely unnecessary even though it is happening day after day. But what if everyone who felt that way applied the same thinking to all their consumer choices? What if people learned to fix things instead of just replacing them?
As young people, your grandparents were more likely to fix a broken chair than buy a new one. Our parents and grandparents not only knew how to fix things, but they also embraced the whole concept. Fixing saved money. Fixing also kept waste to a minimum. They were more likely to know how to fix just about anything themselves.
Today, we are more likely to take broken items straight to the trash bin before heading to the store to buy replacements. As a result, we are unnecessarily filling our landfills more quickly than we otherwise would.
There are several reasons why more recent generations are less likely to be fixers. But the number one reason is our access to cheap consumer goods. If the picture on your television set doesn't look just right, you can go buy a new one for a couple of hundred dollars. Not so for your grandparents. A top-of-the-line TV set could easily run thousands of dollars in today's money.
Advances in mass production and technology have made it possible for us to produce all sorts of consumer goods at a fraction of what it cost 50 years ago. We can afford to throw away and replace. Our grandparents could not. They simply didn't have the money to constantly buy new things. So, when something broke, they fixed it if at all possible.
Don't think that we can't fix things today because consumer goods have become more complicated. Sure, fixing a broken HD television is more complicated than replacing a tube in a TV set from the 1970s. But there are other things that are just as easy to fix today as they were decades ago.
A broken chair may be fixed with some wood glue and a little bit of hardware and some learned skills. That broken vacuum cleaner might only need a new belt. Chances are the microwave oven that has sat dormant on the counter for more than a year only needs a new fuse or a super cheap mica sheet wave guide.
You are already sold on the concept of avoiding alkaline batteries to keep them out of landfills. Good for you. Keep making the decision to purchase rechargeable USB-C batteries from Pale Blue Earth. But then go one step further. Reduce your waste stream by learning how to fix things. If your fix doesn’t work, you’ll learn from it and in the worst case, you broke something that was already broken. Become a fixer and you will find some personal satisfaction, keep a lot more stuff out of the landfill and likely will save yourself money too.
