Don’t waste. Berlin will pay you to repair your broken electronics.

A sad army of broken electronics lingers in my shoulder bag as I wander Berlin in search of my repairer – a municipal program to reimburse people up to $200 for repairing items instead of throwing them away.

My charge includes the flat iron plates that take the frizz out of my hair and no longer lay flat; the motor of my black domestic fan, which turns off after a few minutes; the iPhone whose battery runs out in an instant; my journalist husband’s beloved Marantz audio recorder, palm-sized, with a broken data card door. (“Trust me,” I said, taking it out of his hands. “Trust Berlin.”)

Why we wrote this

A story centered on

The city of Berlin pays half the cost if you repair electronic devices rather than throwing them away. This seems better than what worked in practice for our reporter.

THE repairer offers a maximum payout of around $200 per device. The Berlin government has budgeted $1.3 million to test its version of a program that has worked in other German cities as well as Austria.

Stefan Neitzel, owner of the Berlin bicycle service shop Fahrradstation, says: “Repairerbonus This is something that should be copied everywhere because it provides a slight incentive to consumers and repair centers, and it could also provide an incentive for the manufacturing industry to make repairable items.

A sad army of broken electronics sits in my shoulder bag.

It’s a rainy autumn weekday in Berlin and I live in a city that has decided to pay people to fix things in order to reduce waste.

I mentally examine what I am carefully lugging across the wet cobblestones of Metzer Strasse. The flat iron plates that remove frizz from my hair are no longer flat; the motor of my black domestic fan, which turns off after a few minutes; the iPhone whose battery runs out in an instant.

Why we wrote this

A story centered on

The city of Berlin pays half the cost if you repair electronic devices rather than throwing them away. This seems better than what worked in practice for our reporter.

that of Berlin repairer It won’t be a bargain – the most I pay is about $200 per device – but I might be able to divert a few items from the electronics graveyard.

The most valuable item in the bag is my husband’s palm-sized Marantz audio recorder. It’s both expensive and virtually useless: it only reads data cards when they’re held in place by an insistent finger – unfortunate for a busy broadcast journalist.

“I don’t want anyone to get involved. It’s important for my work,” my husband had said that morning, looking at my large bag of electronics, to which I had hoped to add his non-production trinket. “It still works sometimes.”

I pulled it away from him and saw that he had cobbled together a springy contraption to hold the data card door closed.

“Trust me,” I said with a smirk. “Trust Berlin.”

The Berlin city government has budgeted $1.3 million this year to test its version of a program that has worked in other German cities as well as Austria. Anyone who completes eligible paperwork will be reimbursed half of the repair cost between $80 and $400 to repair any item from an eclectic six-page list that includes electric toothbrushes, bread makers, table saws and smart watches.

The aim is to encourage people to avoid waste and use objects for longer. “Repairerbonus should be copied everywhere,” says Stefan Neitzel, owner of the Berlin bicycle service shop Fahrradstation, “because it provides a slight incentive for consumers and repair centers, and it could also provide an incentive for the manufacturing industry to produce repairable items. »

The program sounds great in theory, but given my experience in Berlin – a city full of good intentions – I suspect it will be difficult to fix things in a decentralized repair economy and then coerce a creaky German bureaucracy into paying me back .

Repairs – a potentially booming business

Matthias Urban confirms one of my suspicions.

I had noticed his repair shop while walking around my neighborhood. I shake my umbrella and cross the threshold into a well-lit store with a warm brown laminate floor lined with refrigerators and vacuum cleaners. Mr. Urban takes a look at my things.

“The fan – I’ll take a look,” he said, dismissing the other things.

Matthias Urban says calls to his Berlin repair shop have increased by 50% since the city launched its “reparaturbonus” program to encourage people to repair – rather than throw away – their broken electronics.

Calls to Mr. Urban’s store have increased 50 percent since Berlin announced the program in September. “People sometimes bring in parts they bought themselves,” he says, making me feel like a bad customer. “They are now looking at repairs rather than buying new things,” he says, nodding with satisfaction.

“The fan – leave him here.” I’ll call you in a week.

One device broken, three left. Mr. Neitzel of Fahrradstation acts as a sort of repair consultant, and he tells me that success will depend on whether the part can be obtained.

“The repair industry is underdeveloped,” he says. “There is a huge demand for repair services, but success starts with good workers and ends with the entire supply chain. »

“I’ll call you in a week.”

I have high hopes for my next stop, Thauer Technology, a store with a bright blue awning.

Daniel Thauer is an information technology specialist born to a certified television master craftsman, and the father-son expertise is brought together under one roof. A bear man with brown-rimmed glasses, Mr. Thauer is surrounded by cardboard boxes and electronic devices, in various stages of operation. I walk past a washer/dryer to the front desk. Mr. Thauer examines my broken things.

He gestures to the Marantz, which I pass through a slot in the pandemic-era Plexiglas shield. He fiddles with the data door.

“People bring the craziest things,” he told me, “like a power strip, which makes no sense because a new one only costs 5 to 10 euros. Odd. It’s not worth fixing. A kettle with a broken casing is not either.

Well-known brands will be the best solution, as spare parts are easy to obtain. For everything else, it’s a 50/50 chance, says Mr. Thauer. “Maybe we could get a new case for it.” Maybe we can’t,” he said after calling Marantz and getting no response. “I’ll call you in a week.”

I’m still waiting

When I get home, I put the flat iron in a cardboard box and store it under the bathroom sink. I make a mental note to buy a new iPhone.

A week later, Mr. Urban calls, “Come get the fan.” » I had bought it in Asia, where I lived before moving to Europe, and cannot get a replacement part for the motor.