There are other Rs, and even an “M” before “Reduce, Reuse and Recycle”:
- Maintain
- Repair
- Refurbish
After reading about the Circular Diagram published by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, I decided to give “maintain” a shot. Every time I cooked on high level broil, our beloved “Ovey” would short and completely power off. I contacted a technician to come in and give her a peek. Could our 24-year-old oven be repaired? He diagnosed the problem: an older panel that had probably been worn due to overheating (such as in the case with the oven cleaning setting… I was advised NOT to use it as it occasionally melts the electric components in digital ovens – beware!!). Our appliance technician warned me that there was a potential risk in damaging the electrical panel upon opening Ovey up for repair that would render her useless and I’d have to purchase another. I decided to take the gamble, and thankfully it paid off!
Planned obsolescence appears to be the strategy of many manufacturers these days and increases the generation of waste exponentially. Despite the warnings and good intentions of my brother and aunt to just buy a new oven, I decided to give Ovey one more chance in an attempt to spare the landfill another oven. Thank you, Sergei of the Appliance Hospital, for helping us make this wish a reality.
Grateful for the Ride 