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Taxpayer money for phone repairs? How a stock corporation also benefits from Zurich's pilot project
🇨🇭 Switzerland /Economy & Trade

Taxpayer money for phone repairs? How a stock corporation also benefits from Zurich's pilot project

From Neue Zürcher Zeitung · () German

Translated from German, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Zurich has launched a pilot program offering a repair bonus, covering 50% of costs for fixing items like electronics and textiles to encourage a circular economy.
  • The program, intended to reduce waste and conserve resources, has primarily been used for smartphone repairs, raising concerns about potential fraud similar to Austria's experience.
  • While the city acknowledges the issue, it is currently evaluating the program's effectiveness and data, with plans to monitor its impact on environmental goals.

The city of Zurich has introduced a repair bonus pilot program designed to promote a circular economy by incentivizing residents to fix rather than discard items. The initiative, which covers 50% of repair costs up to a maximum of 100 Swiss francs per person annually, initially applies to electronics and textiles. The city has allocated nearly 3 million Swiss francs for this three-year project, aiming to reduce waste and conserve resources by extending the lifespan of products.

The bonus is currently being used primarily for devices for which repair is already an established business.

— NZZ am SonntagObserving the early usage patterns of Zurich's repair bonus program.

However, early data from the program reveals a significant concentration of bonus usage on smartphone repairs. In July, 78% of all subsidized repair orders were for smartphones, tablets, or smartwatches. This trend echoes experiences in Austria, which implemented a similar bonus system and later faced widespread fraud cases, predominantly involving mobile phone shops. Following these revelations, Austria excluded smartphones and tablets from its repair subsidy program.

In July, 78 percent of the subsidized repair orders concerned smartphones, tablets, or smartwatches.

— ERZ (Waste Management and Recycling Department)Providing data on the types of items being repaired under the Zurich bonus program.

Zurich officials are aware of the potential for misuse and are monitoring the situation closely. While they note that smartphone repair businesses were quick to register for the program and that the data is still preliminary, the parallels with the Austrian experience are concerning. The city states that electronics and textiles were initially chosen for their perceived greatest ecological benefit. The program's effectiveness and the extent of any fraudulent activity will be crucial in determining its future, particularly in light of the environmental objectives it aims to achieve.

Austria introduced a generous repair bonus in 2022. In the first year, around 44 percent of orders were for smartphones. Later, fraud cases became known, almost exclusively in mobile phone shops.

— NZZ am SonntagReferencing the Austrian experience with repair bonuses and subsequent fraud.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Neue Zürcher Zeitung in German. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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