The reason why people throw stuff away is because it's cheaper to buy a new one. It cost them more money if they had it fixed instead while they could have gone out and bought another one and save money. But if it was an expensive item like a big screen TV, they would defenitly hire someone to fix it. Maybe you can encourage your neighbors if any of their items needs fixing, they should bring them to you so you can fix them so that they won't go out and buy a new one.