In Austria, around 80,000 tonnes of Waste of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) are collected each year, meaning that every Austrian resident collects around 9.5 kilogrammes [https://www.ara.at/en/circular-economy/; https://www.ara.at/en/circular-economy/weee-and-batteries/], an amount far above EU average. Being an eager collector is one thing, but wouldn´t it be better if WEEE did not arise at the first place? If people kept their devices functional? Authorities in Styria have set new incentives for WEEE prevention. Private households get 50% or a maximum of 100 Euro reimbursement if they decide not to trash broken electric devices (and buy new ones) but to have them repaired. The Styrian concept engages registered repair businesses. In this way piles of washing machines, toasters etc. evade scrapping, thus saving valuable and limited resources. As a positive side-effect, the increased demand for repair services benefits regional repair shops.

The portal https://www.reparaturfuehrer.at/steiermark?page=steiermark helps consumers to find a suitable repair shop, and it enables registration for shops offering their services. Households can secure themselves a piece of the 80.000 Euro cake; at a first-come first-served basis.