Charles wrote:

Case in point. Our Fellowes DM8C shredder died so I took it apart and was
delighted to find that it was easily serviceable. Two stripped gears. So,
I jumped on the Internet only to find that parts are not available. My
delight was short-lived.

So here goes 25 more pounds into a stinking, bulging and leeching landfill,
when it could have been repaired for a few bucks and 20 minutes of my time.

I usually take stuff apart before I throw it out and about half the time
find that repair would be easy if the parts were available.

I hate the baggage of more legislation but think that something might need
to be done in this arena.

If schools were still actually teaching instead of mostly baby-sitting
and people still had workshops you could fabricate your own replacement
parts. Unfortunately those skills have been outsourced to China, where
people still have tools and repair things. In short the problem is not
with parts legislation, it's with schools.