Our dishwasher’s gone on the blink.  After watching all the relevant troubleshooting videos on YouTube and applying the potential “fixes” with no success, I called “Mark The Repairman”.  Mark’s a very honest and pragmatic guy.  He ran a Q&A with me on the phone to pinpoint the potential issue:

Mark: Is the dishwasher powering-up?

Brad: Yes.

M: Is it making a constant noise?

B: Yes.

M: Is there water in the bottom of the washer?

B: Yes.

So Mark asked me to hold my mobile phone next to the grumbling dishwasher to hear the noise and provide his prognosis.  It’s a leak that has entered into some of the electrical componentry.  Potentially fixable, but (honest) Mark suggested that if it is over 10 years old (and it is) that with a £50.00 call out fee plus the cost of parts (£75.00 – 80.00) it may be more cost-effective in the longer term to consider a new unit?

So following a quick search of the internet for a recommended replacement, I found a dishwasher which was available from a major retailer for whom we had amassed a significant number of Clubcard points.  And the model I wanted was on a £10.00 for £5.00 points offer.  And with over £200 of unused vouchers, the cost of replacing the dishwasher was: £0.00.  Result!

Whilst on the face of it the economics of the solution (to potentially repair a 10 year old machine for £125.00 to £130.00, or get a brand new unit for £0.00) sounds like a no-brainer, it’s left me with more than a twinge of guilt.  I am the kind of person that likes to repair things – I have a pair of Blundstone boots that are on their fourth resole; they must be nearly 15 years old, and have still got years of wear left in them. And with the ink on the EU Circular Economy Package barely dry, my dishwasher experience has left me pondering the paradigm shift required to bring circularity into our everyday lives.

In addition to the catharsis of sharing my guilt in this blog, I am somewhat reassured that we have some great scientists, engineers and “circular economists” working on unlocking the value in “dead” electrical equipment.  And my colleague Dr Richard Peagam is one such person.  Richard has just received a consignment of 10 tonnes of WEEE (waste electrical and electronic equipment) that he is evaluating the potential for reuse, recovery and repurposing into brand new equipment.  And with my US colleague Andrew Armstrong, Richard is also looking at potential take-back programmes that one of our West Coast technology clients could deploy to get their redundant kit back to their, and their suppliers’, factories for remanufacture.

These are great projects to be involved in, but this weekend’s experience has made me realise that there is a considerable amount of work to be done to flex us into a more circular economic mode.

So, Richard, if I can have the address of the waste transfer station where you’re hosting the WEEE project, I’ll send over my old dishwasher.

Dr Richard Peagam is a Senior Consultant based in Anthesis’ London office and can be contacted via: richard.peagam@anthesisgroup.com.

Andrew Armstrong is a Managing Partner in Anthesis’ US operations and is based in San Francisco and can be contacted via: andrew.armstrong@anthesisgroup.com.

Brad Blundell is a Director of Anthesis and is based in Manchester and can be contacted via: brad.blundell@anthesisgroup.com.