A recent study by the German Federal Body for Ecology has demonstrated that on average one third of big appliances used in Europe is scrapped when the appliance can still function correctly. They have calculated the service life for the various products and it ranges from a maximum of 13 years for washing machines and cookers to a minimum of 6 years for TV sets.
The precocious scrapping produces an excessive accumulation of technical wastes in the concerned Countries, with consequent disposal problems. Therefore, the mentioned Body proposes the introduction of a new regulation compelling household appliance manufacturers to indicate the minimum service life on new appliances, likewise what already in force for foods.
