Theresa Novak Corvallis Gazette-Times | Posted: Saturday, January 12, 2008 10:00 pm
My refrigerator's made of metal, enamel and glass. It was new when Ronald Reagan was president. It usually works great. But a few months ago, it started screaming at random.
Unnerved, I called Ernie. He can fix almost anything. When my stove's three-coil burners quit, Ernie replaced them with five-coil burners - and threw in, free, new reflectors.
"Your freezer defrost motor has a bad bearing," he said, after opening and closing the freezer door a few times to bring forth the scream. He replaced the motor in minutes. He cleaned a cat-sized pile of dust off the condenser coils, free.
I asked Ernie if he could fix a microwave that had stopped working at the office after only a few weeks. Our publisher said it couldn't be fixed, but I had boxed it up anyway, hoping it could be repaired and donated to a charity.
Nope, Ernie said. Can't do it. "Microwaves are pretty much disposable."
Ditto that for cell phones, blenders, coffee makers ... the list of cheap appliances and electronic equipment is growing. Ever try to return a broken appliance to the store? You might get your money back or a free replacement, but they won't take it back. The interval between "new-in-the box" to "noxious waste" has grown brief.
As a frugal consumer who hates waste, this explosion of disposable appliances and "e-trash" frustrates me. "Disposable" is a lie. Things don't disappear just because I throw them out.
Allied Waste, the local company that must deal with such waste, is to be commended for periodically accepting "e-trash" and similar items for free. A better idea is manufacturing better-quality goods that last longer; stuff Ernie could fix.
For example, the cover cracked on my under-the-counter kitchen light while I was replacing its fluorescent tube.
At the store where I bought the light, I learned that I couldn't buy the cover separately; I had to buy a whole new light. So, my light cover's still cracked.
Our priorities as consumers seem broken as well.
Our nation was built on an ethic of frugality, practicality and an appreciation for quality workmanship - all qualities that are worth keeping. Prizing "cheap" above "lasting" is a false bargain. It costs us economically and environmentally.
And it endangers the livelihood of people like Ernie. That's something we can't afford.
Theresa Novak is the city editor at the Corvallis Gazette-Times.