What if as a society we wasted less and reused more, to give items a second lease of life; to extend product life so we can manufacture less new products and grow a more prosperous, circular economy? It’s time to say goodbye to the consumerism of buying something brand new at high cost, using it for a couple of years (or just a couple of weeks if it’s fast fashion) and then sending it to landfill; and say hello to being more resourceful and making things last.
Read on to find out how a network of repair cafes is already making this happen, or skip ahead to get more ideas of how to do something bigger and reduce the waste impact in your area.
Inspiration read
150 community repair cafes in Wales
Repair Cafe Wales
With backing from the Wales Council for Voluntary Action and the Welsh government circular economy team, Repair Cafe Wales runs a huge network of 150 repair cafes across Wales, helping local communities to manage repair cafes so they can fix household items. They’re all supported by a central team but each local organiser is responsible for setting up and running the cafe in their community. Every repair cafe has the same aim: to repair items free of charge so they can be reused, reduce landfill, save people money, share skills and build a stronger community. Each of these repair cafes is a powerful reminder that repair is a practical action we can take locally to transform our relationship with the things we own and the systems we choose to participate in.
Beating heart of the right-to-repair movement
The Right to Repair is a movement to make sure everyone has the right to fix the products they own. It aims to change regulations on how these things are made in the first place, to make them easy and affordable to repair, as well as to expand our rights after purchase. Repair cafes play a pivotal role in this shift by fostering a culture of repair. In a society conditioned to replace rather than repair, every one of these community spaces challenges the notion that a broken device is junk, destined for landfill.
The UK Right to Repair movement is currently asking MPs to endorse its asks to bring legislation making right to repair a reality in the UK. Everyone can help by getting involved with the UK Repair and Reuse Declaration.
Repairing our society
Beyond the clear environmental benefits of reducing waste and promoting more sustainable behaviours, research shows that repair cafes strengthen social and individual wellbeing. They connect different people and bridge across sub-communities; they include those who might otherwise be unable to afford it; and they build norms such as reciprocity and trust that benefit society as a whole. In addition, repair cafes also promote wellbeing by developing people’s skills and sense of empowerment and create a newfound joy from taking positive, practical, communal action.
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Inspiration listen
Repair and Reuse
What if we could transform our relationship with the things we already own? With Dr Adam Read MBE, of SUEZ, and Clare Seek, of Share (Portsmouth).
Do something bigger
Do you believe we have enough ‘stuff’ already and would like to do something bigger to help change our consumption practices? So many things can be repaired and reused, from electronics to bikes to clothing, and so many interesting ways to have an impact in your community, through your company and as a public service provider.
Repair and reuse as a community
If running your own repair cafe seems a bit daunting, why not organise a community clothing repair party or an event for repairing something else? The Restart Project offers plenty of advice about how to run theses sociable, one-off events instead. Fixing Factories are an alternative blueprint of permanent places for community-powered repair, helping to address unwanted electrical and tech waste that is the UK’s fastest growing waste stream. In London, textile recycling charity TRAID runs 11 charity shops, offers free home collections and manages a wider network of over 1500 clothes donation banks, to keep wearable clothes in use. Taking an even bigger community perspective, Circular Yorkshire is an example of a Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) between Yorkshire councils, businesses, charities, academia and communities, working together to create a local circular economy.
Repair and reuse for profit and planet
Companies that have grown up with linear production systems cannot afford to ignore these new repair and reuse opportunities – they have too much to gain rather than too much to lose. For example SUEZ runs Renew Hub, reclaiming items for the waste stream on an industrial scale in Greater Manchester – operating reuse shops, providing training opportunities and creating a space for communities to use. Warp It is an online exchange system that makes it easy to swap surplus work items, within organisations and externally between other organisations. AO is now the UK’s largest recycler of fridges and large appliances. The company prioritises repairing and refurbishing appliances to prevent goods from being prematurely recycled, and people do not need to buy products from them to use their Collect & Recycle service. And in fashion, second-hand clothing shops are becoming trendier across the country, growing 21 times faster than the wider retail market in the UK over the past three years.
Repair and reuse as a council service
Bristol Waste Company, which is wholly owned by Bristol City Council, runs two household reuse and recycling centres in the city. Reuse Shop by Bristol Waste diverts tonnes of items from the waste stream so they can be reused instead by local residents, ranging from bicycles and mobility aids to tested electrical items and paint that is remanufactured.
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