Would you stop throwing things away and get them repaired instead, if it were cheaper to do so?
The Swedish government likes to think its citizens would, and is putting the idea into practice.
The country's Budget for 2017 will cut the VAT rate charged on minor repairs to things like bicycles, shoes and clothes.
Tax refunds will be offered to people who get their white goods repaired, like washing machines and dishwashers.
The VAT rate will be cut from 25% to 12%, and the tax refund will let people reclaim half the labour cost of a repair to white goods and kitchen stoves.
The idea of encouraging people to be less wasteful in their everyday lives has been promoted by the Swedish Green party, which is a partner in the country's ruling minority coalition government, along with the Swedish Social Democrats....
More: http://www.bbc.com/news/business-37419042
Part of the back of my property is a bit of a junkyard. Nothing I enjoy more than repairing and retasking "junk". I often come home from the county "dump" with some item or another in my truck, and it amazes me what people toss 'away'. Some of my solar PV mounts are old satellite dish mounts re-tasked into trackers.
Of course, our consumer-based society has become very much reliant upon planned obsolescence and the 'throw-away' meme to drive more consumption and growth, and if repairing/re-tasking/reusing stuff becomes the norm, a lot of folks will need to find something else to do. Another trap our society has set for itself. Then, again, what is the advantage of building newer, more efficient, things like appliances if they are designed to be disposed of and replaced in a few years?
Would/could the US and other western consumer-based societies ever implement such policies? Are developing countries falling into the same wasteful trap? Is it a moot point as we reach limits to growth?