Resource Recycling
  • The Latest
  • Analysis
    • All
    • Certification Scorecard
    • Industry Announcements
    • Opinion
    EPR fees are a market signal. Here’s what they’re telling you.

    EPR fees are a market signal. Here’s what they’re telling you.

    Wolframite ore, the primary ore of tungsten from Altai, Russia

    Tungsten scrap export controls draw industry attention

    Certification Scorecard — Week of April 6, 2026

    Closed Loop Partners acquires Sutter Metals, connecting electronics disposition to metals recovery

    Certification Scorecard — Week of March 30, 2026

    Industry announcements for January 2026

    Industry announcements for April 2026

    Certification scorecard – Week of March 23, 2026

    Certification Scorecard – Week of March 16, 2026

    Groups identify recovered plastics users in the Northeast

    Bale pricing for recycled plastics diverges

  • Conferences
  • Publications

    Other Topics

    Textiles
    Organics
    Packaging
    Glass
    Brand Owners

    Metals
    Technology
    Research
    Markets
    Grant Watch

    All Topics

Subscribe
No Result
View All Result
Resource Recycling
  • The Latest
  • Analysis
    • All
    • Certification Scorecard
    • Industry Announcements
    • Opinion
    EPR fees are a market signal. Here’s what they’re telling you.

    EPR fees are a market signal. Here’s what they’re telling you.

    Wolframite ore, the primary ore of tungsten from Altai, Russia

    Tungsten scrap export controls draw industry attention

    Certification Scorecard — Week of April 6, 2026

    Closed Loop Partners acquires Sutter Metals, connecting electronics disposition to metals recovery

    Certification Scorecard — Week of March 30, 2026

    Industry announcements for January 2026

    Industry announcements for April 2026

    Certification scorecard – Week of March 23, 2026

    Certification Scorecard – Week of March 16, 2026

    Groups identify recovered plastics users in the Northeast

    Bale pricing for recycled plastics diverges

  • Conferences
  • Publications

    Other Topics

    Textiles
    Organics
    Packaging
    Glass
    Brand Owners

    Metals
    Technology
    Research
    Markets
    Grant Watch

    All Topics

Subscribe
No Result
View All Result
Resource Recycling
No Result
View All Result
Home E-Scrap

Right-to-repair initiative in military gains momentum

Antoinette SmithbyAntoinette Smith
May 22, 2025
in E-Scrap
Right-to-repair initiative in military gains momentum

As part of a broader initiative to increase efficiency, the U.S. secretary of defense has called for the Army to include the right to repair products in its procurement contracts, adding support to previous congressional efforts. 

Under the heading “Acquisition Reform and Budget Optimization,” U.S. Defense Sec. Pete Hegseth said in an April 30 memo that Army Sec. Dan Driscoll must:

  • Identify and propose contract modifications for right-to-repair provisions where intellectual property constraints limit the Army’s ability to conduct maintenance and access the appropriate maintenance tools, software and technical data.
  • Seek to include right-to-repair provisions in all existing contracts and ensure these provisions are included in all new contracts.

Democratic U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts applauded the directive in a press release: “I pushed the Army Secretary to get right-to-repair in the Army done, and I’m glad he kept his word. This reform means the Army will be more resilient in future wars, and it will end the days of soldiers being dependent on giant defense contractors charging billions and taking months and months to get the equipment they need repaired.”

In addition to securing a commitment from then-nominee Driscoll in January, Warren also was able to get the Trump nominees for Navy secretary and military transportation to pledge to support servicemembers’ right to repair, she added. 

In support of the measures, a Public Interest Research Group report published this month cited the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, which in June 2023 stated: “To effectively field and sustain systems and equipment, DOD must have flexibility in how it maintains its equipment throughout the product’s useful life. The Department strongly supports the concept of a ‘right to repair’ and believes it is important that the Department and its service members are able to repair their own equipment.”

The report, written by PIRG federal legislative director Isaac Bowers and Nathan Proctor, senior director of PIRG’s Campaign for the Right to Repair, provided a detailed analysis of the entities both for and against the initiative.  

Warren has long been an advocate for the military’s right to repair devices. Last December, she and U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez introduced the “Servicemember Right-to-Repair Act,” in an effort to cut costs by reducing or eliminating “contractor-imposed restrictions on how they can diagnose, repair, and maintain equipment and weapons, making it difficult to conduct necessary fixes in the field without relying on contractors. These restrictions put military readiness at risk and can increase Pentagon spending on basic services and equipment.”

And in July 2024, legislators including Warren introduced Section 828 — “Requirement for Contractors to Provide Reasonable Access to Repair Materials” — into the Defense Reauthorization Act, a bill to provide military funding.

Section 828 required that procurement contractors agree in writing to provide “fair and reasonable access to all the repair materials, including parts, tools, and information, used by the manufacturer or provider or their authorized partners to diagnose, maintain, or repair the good or service.”

Industry opposition

The Potomac Officers Club, a membership organization for executives in government contracting, wrote in a recent analysis, “Right to repair has been one of the most contentious topics in government contracting for decades,” as contractors and the DOD seek to balance competing interests of profitability and cost-cutting.

In September, Warren formally asked government contractors to defend their opposition to such measures, saying the industry effort to block the right to repair “has no national security rationale: instead, it appears to be based on simple corporate greed.”

In questioning the industry, Warren invoked a July 2024 letter to the Senate Armed Services Committee from a coalition of defense contractors. That letter said the DOD “has not reported barriers to maintenance and repair that would necessitate such an over-reaching policy.”

The industry coalition went on to say Section 828 did not provide measures to protect proprietary information, and that it would enforce strict price controls for materials and information. 

However, whether the Army’s procurement division can effectively negotiate such requirements remains to be seen, Greg Williams, director of the Center for Defense Information at the Project On Government Oversight, told Federal News Network earlier this month. 

“It takes more work to make sure that you actually take possession of all of the intellectual property to which you are entitled, and it takes even more work on top of that to go back and renegotiate existing contracts so that you’re entitled to all of the intellectual property you need in order to maintain all your equipment,” he said. 

Tags: Policy NowRepair & Reuse
TweetShare
Antoinette Smith

Antoinette Smith

Antoinette Smith has been at Resource Recycling Inc., since June 2024, after several years of covering commodity plastics and supply chains, with a special focus on economic impacts. She can be contacted at [email protected].

Related Posts

Oregon’s battery EPR bill officially charged for implementation

byStefanie Valentic
April 10, 2026

Oregon Governor Tina Kotek signed HB 4144 into law on April 7, setting into motion the mechanics for an extended...

AF&PA states disappointment over Oregon EPR decision

byStefanie Valentic
April 8, 2026

The American Forest & Paper Association is responding after a federal judge blocked the trade group's bid to intervene in...

MRF equipment firm Machinex wins patent fight with rival

Judge blocks four groups from joining Oregon Recycling Act injunction

byStefanie Valentic
April 7, 2026

A judge has shut the door on four industry groups seeking to join NAW's Oregon EPR injunction and clarified who's...

UBC stakeholders report on recycling progress

Trump’s Section 232 tariff overhaul provides mixed results for recycling industry

byStefanie Valentic
April 7, 2026

A sweeping overhaul of the Section 232 steel and aluminum derivatives tariff program took effect April 6, slashing duty rates...

Oregon’s Recycling Modernization Act faces injunction

Why EPR’s biggest obstacle might not be legislation

byStefanie Valentic
April 6, 2026

A miscommunication around the Oregon injunction has some of the industry operating on bad information, and it's raising bigger questions...

Minnesota State Capitol

Minnesota watches Oregon as EPR implementation advances

byStefanie Valentic
April 6, 2026

Minnesota's Packaging Waste and Cost Reduction Act passed in 2024 and is still in early implementation, making the infrastructure decisions...

Load More
Next Post
Right to repair in WA and battery EPR in Nebraska

Right to repair in WA and battery EPR in Nebraska

More Posts

Wineries help create model for film recycling

Wineries help create model for film recycling

April 7, 2026
With RPET in crisis, focus turns to solutions

With RPET in crisis, focus turns to solutions

April 2, 2026
PCA closing Richmond plant

PCA closing Richmond plant

April 2, 2026

Trafigura signs $1.1b deal for recycled battery metals

April 8, 2026
End markets, policy key to RPET viability

End markets, policy key to RPET viability

April 8, 2026
Oregon’s Recycling Modernization Act faces injunction

Why EPR’s biggest obstacle might not be legislation

April 6, 2026

Apparel retailer organization challenges SB 707 textile PRO selection

April 2, 2026
EPR fees are a market signal. Here’s what they’re telling you.

EPR fees are a market signal. Here’s what they’re telling you.

April 10, 2026
WM rolling out curbside acceptance of PP cups 

APR releases first semiannual Design Guide update

April 3, 2026

Independents complement primary PRO in state EPR

April 6, 2026
Load More

About & Publications

About Us

Staff

Archive

Magazine

Work With Us

Advertise
Jobs
Contact
Terms and Privacy

Newsletter

Get the latest recycling news and analysis delivered to your inbox every week. Stay ahead on industry trends, policy updates, and insights from programs, processors, and innovators.

Subscribe

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

No Result
View All Result
  • The Latest
  • Analysis
  • Recycling
  • E-Scrap
  • Plastics
  • Policy Now
  • Conferences
    • E-Scrap Conference
    • Plastics Recycling Conference
    • Resource Recycling Conference
    • Textiles Recovery Summit
  • Magazine
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Archive
  • Jobs
  • Staff
Subscribe
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.