Why Small Applianced End Up in Landfills, and What to Do About It

Americans dump more than 2 million of these items a year—including blenders and microwaves—but there are ways to stop our tendency to trash stuff

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“Let me take out my toolbox and fix my busted coffee maker,” says nobody ever. Well, almost nobody.

According to Consumer Reports’ Right to Repair survey, conducted between November and December 2021 involving a nationally representative sample of 2,075 Americans, among those who owned a small appliance that stopped working well within the previous five years, only 12 percent tried to get it repaired and a mere quarter of them, 3 percent, were successful.

Ultimately, these defunct appliances are thrown out. The latest data from the Environmental Protection Agency shows that Americans toss more than 2 million small appliances each year, a figure that has doubled since 2000 and quadrupled since 1990. Only a small percentage (5.6 percent) is recycled, and a vast majority end up in landfills, to the tune of about 13 pounds per person per year. Why do we have such an aversion to repairing our small appliances? And what can be done to stop the waste? We talked to experts to find some answers.

Among the most common reasons why people replace their goods is that repairing a small appliance is too inconvenient.

A 2018 European Commission study—while not specific to Americans, nor small appliances per se—may offer some insights as to just how low the bar is for something to be considered inconvenient. It found that when the choice was as simple as clicking a button on a screen, as much as 83 percent of people chose to repair products rather than replace them.

But when participants had to put in just a little extra effort, their choices changed. In the experiment, participants who were asked to enter some basic information to arrange the repair would often abandon the process and then choose to buy a replacement instead. When participants were asked to type in the same information in order to get a replacement, it didn’t stop them from following through on buying that replacement.

“Replacements seem to have a warm glow which [outweighs] the hassles of getting a replacement,” says Annette Cerulli-Harms, PhD, a co-author of the study and a behavioral economist at the Berlin-based ConPolicy Institute for Consumer Policy, a research and consultancy firm. “The same does not seem to be the case for repair ... even if repair costs significantly less.”

What’s more, we’re just not inclined to repair things nowadays. “There’s a cultural component,” says James McGuffin-Cawley, PhD, a professor of materials science and engineering at Case Western Reserve University. “There’s not much exposure to fixing things. It’s not part of people’s childhood anymore, and it’s not part of the educational system.” As a result, he says, people tend to give up on a small appliance before investigating why it isn’t working properly. But if they’d take the time to explore a little, they might find that their product isn’t broken at all or that the issue is easily fixable.

Among Americans who had a small appliance break in the past five years, a vast majority (97 percent) didn’t repair it, our survey showed. Although 8 percent of them actually tried to get it fixed, they gave up. The most common reason people had for not repairing their item was that it was too expensive (44 percent of those who didn’t get it fixed).

Making the repair cost even less enticing is the low price of a replacement. Sure, you can buy a toaster for several hundred dollars, but you can also easily score one for less than $50. The prices for brand-new products are often so low that the cost of labor for a professional repair will almost always push the price beyond the threshold where most people opt for a repair.

And even if you’re willing to perform a repair on your own, you might not be able to find spare parts or the parts themselves may be relatively expensive. It may also be hard to find technicians to repair most types of small appliances. In our survey, only 20 percent of Americans said they thought consumers had enough choices for places where they could get a small appliance repaired. And 33 percent said they had replaced a smaller appliance sooner than they would have liked mostly because they couldn’t find a place they were happy with to get it repaired.

The consequence? A feedback loop that encourages fewer and fewer repairs over time. Cheap prices make repairs less attractive than buying replacements. Because there’s not much of a market for repairs, fewer technicians choose to specialize in small-appliance repair. Without easy access to repairs, small appliances have come to be viewed as disposable goods, which provides consumers with an incentive to spend less and manufacturers to offer cheaper, lower-quality products.

Not surprisingly, people have come to assume that their toaster or blender or air fryer isn’t fixable. In our survey, most didn’t even pretend to value repairability in small appliances. Only 34 percent said it was very important or somewhat important, which is a fraction of the people who think it’s important for large appliances (91 percent) or cars (96 percent). And 85 percent of people who actually had a broken small appliance replaced it without even considering a repair.

Before you assume your appliance is broken, check the owner’s manual. Sometimes the problem is that you’ve fallen short on maintenance, and you just need to familiarize yourself with the instructions on optimal functioning. For instance, it may simply be time to descale your coffee maker, or you may need to clean your air purifier’s filter.

If that doesn’t work and the product is still under warranty, call the manufacturer to either get a replacement or instructions on how to resolve the problem. Many manufacturers warn that trying to fix a product yourself voids the warranty. But if your warranty has passed, customer service isn’t helpful, and you were going to throw away the item anyway, you might as well unplug your product, take out your toolbox, and try to revive it. “Instead of doing Wordle, try to fix your toaster!” says McGuffin-Cawley, who is also faculty director of the Larry and Sally Zlotnick Sears think[box] at Case Western. “Approach it like a game or a puzzle to be solved.” A few suggestions:

Find the source of the problem. Is the appliance actually broken? McGuffin-Cawley recalls a colleague who assumed her Keurig had broken when the problem was a faulty pack of pods. Look for clues. For example, where is the leak coming from? Where is the sound coming from? For help, call customer service; chances are, many others have called before you and the best reps can tell you what you might do to resolve the problem. They might also put you in touch with partner maintenance and fix-it shops near you.

Hunt for the broken parts. A company website or owner’s manual can often point you to the right place to get things like electric grill plates or a coffee maker’s carafe. You might also score harder-to-find nuts, bolts, and screws from specialty parts distributors (like Repair Clinic, Parts Select, and Encompass). Certain exterior parts—say, a broken handle or dial—may even be 3D printed, McGuffin-Cawley says. (These printers are sometimes available at universities, such as McGuffin-Cawley’s, certain UPS stores, and local maker spaces.) Check the plastic used, though. PLA plastic is not particularly durable, he says, but ABS plastic (the kind used in old landline phones) is. Again, to be safe, contact customer service first to see if someone can help with what you might need and what’s safe to do.

Do a little sleuthing. Start by Googling your model number along with the product you’re experiencing. You might find lots of users looking for the same thing and comments about easy fixes, whether it’s on social media or Reddit or another forum. There are also sites dedicated, in full or in part, to fixing things (for instance, iFixit).

Seek out a community of fixers. Look for a repair enthusiast group in your local area. For instance, find a Repair Cafe near you, where volunteers give people repair lessons. (You’ll also find repair advice and instruction manuals on its site.)

Watch a video. People learn how to crochet on YouTube; why not find out how to resuscitate a busted blender? Look for videos with a robust number of reviews and channel subscribers. RepairClinic, for instance, has thousands of videos and hundreds of thousands of subscribers. Watch the video all the way through at least once so that you can make a list of the tools and parts you need, including any safety equipment, such as eye protection and gloves. Then watch it again, following along as you’re fixing your appliance. It may seem expensive at first to buy new tools, but the more you get comfortable fixing your stuff, the more those tools will come in handy. “It becomes an investment,” McGuffin-Cawley says. “Fixing things is more cost-effective if you’re in it for the long haul.”

If all repair efforts go south, then it’s time to recycle. “When we recycle, we reduce waste sent to landfills, conserve natural resources, and reduce the need to process new materials,” says Nena Shaw, senior advisor in the EPA’s Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery.

But that’s not as easy as it sounds. While the internet is full of guidance about the proper disposing of electronics, meds, and even needles, there’s nary a peep about small appliances. This otherwise helpful EPA site provides guidance for various materials, but, of course, your food processor is composed of many things, including plastic and metal, not to mention potentially hazardous blades. Earth911, a comprehensive recycling center database searchable by ZIP code, is also typically helpful, but once you actually look into it, many small appliances are often on the “not accepted” list. What to do?

“The underlying fact is that companies have not been held accountable to make their products recyclable, and few states have extended producer responsibility laws that require companies to help collect and recycle what they make,” says Mitch Ratcliffe, CEO and publisher of Earth911. He discourages disassembling appliances to throw into materials bins, though, because of possible toxins, sharp edges, and other hazards that may harm both consumers and recycling workers.

If Earth911’s suggested resources won’t take your broken small appliance, try local repair shops. Some of the parts may be useful to them, Ratcliffe says—and they may be happy to take that busted blender off your hands without charge. But if all else fails, then, unfortunately, the only thing to do is seal it in a small bag and trash it. Then, Ratcliffe suggests, write to your state legislators to ask them to pass laws requiring small-appliance makers to help fund collection and processing efforts.

Do your research before you buy. For instance, assess the warranty. It’s a reflection of a company’s confidence in its product, and it’s associated with a product’s longevity, says James Sandor, director of engineering at Cuisinart. Next, examine the material. Stainless steel, for instance, points to longevity because of its corrosion and stain resistance, he says. Ceramic coating and powder coating are typically considered superior to enamel paint.

Whichever products you decide to buy, look for models with a track record for durability. Consumer Reports tracks reliability data for a handful of small-appliance categories, including toaster ovens, blenders, and a couple of popular types of coffee makers. Here are three top-rated small appliances with stellar reliability ratings. With a well-built appliance and helpful customer service, you’ll be keeping it out of landfills for years to come.