A Cal Poly student group is celebrating a new California law that makes fixing electronics and appliances easier. The Right to Repair Act requires manufacturers to provide consumers and independent repair shops with the necessary tools, parts, and instructions.
Quinn Horak, a Cal Poly Engineering student and president of the Cal Poly Repair Café, leads a group of students who repair small appliances for free to reduce waste.
Horak said that limited access to parts has been a significant challenge for their group.
“We have already been having problems with people bringing in items, and it'll require some sort of bespoke part that the company doesn't make anymore, so hopefully it'll be easier for people to access repair parts,” Horak said.
However, Horak noted the law doesn't cover agricultural equipment, where parts are still difficult for consumers and independent repair shops to obtain.
