In many parts of the world, people now often throw away broken items and buy new ones, whereas in the past, broken items were repaired and reused. Why do you think this is the case? What problems may this lead to?

The main reason for

this

Linking Words

throwaway habit is that manufactured goods have become remarkably cheap. A new kettle in a Casablanca supermarket now costs less than an hour of a technician's time, so repair makes little economic sense. Closely linked to

this

Linking Words

is the way products are built because many phones and appliances are sealed too tightly for even skilled workers to open, which means that they cannot be fixed without damage. In Morocco,

for instance

Linking Words

, the traditional repair stalls in the medina of Fez have almost disappeared within a decade, and,

consequently

Linking Words

, the skills themselves are being lost.

Nevertheless

Linking Words

,

this

Linking Words

convenience carries a heavy price. The most obvious problem is waste, since every discarded item ends up in a landfill or is burned, releasing toxic fumes and filling land that could be farmed. Rabat,

for example

Linking Words

, now produces roughly twice the rubbish it did in 2000,

although

Linking Words

its population has grown far more slowly.

Furthermore

Linking Words

, families on low incomes suffer most, given that they must buy the same cheap goods again and again

instead

Linking Words

of paying once for something durable. If

this

Linking Words

pattern continued unchecked, poorer households would spend a growing share of their earnings on replacements

while

Linking Words

the planet absorbed ever more rubbish.