The fourth Fixing Factory in London, opening on 23rd October 2025. The Fixing Factory is a venture run jointly by Possible and the Restart Project with National Lottery Funding. The Haringey factory running is also in partnership with the local council and local waste authority. It is located at: Unit C5, Florentia Village, 108 Vale Rd, Harringay Warehouse District, London N4 1TD.
After the initial pilot in Brent (now closed), three Fixing Factories are now in operation – Camden, Hackney and Haringey. They bring a range of repair and reuse skills to the local community.
The new Fixing Factory, like the others, will offer a range of services including Volunteer Taster sessions (if you are thinking of volunteering), Training sessions, Repair Cafe events and Community Events.
Since opening in May, the Hackney Fixing Factory has started hosting events.
They run Community Repairevery Saturday 11am-2pm. They have also started to run training events and will soon run Future Fixers events (for volunteers only).
Images from recent training event on soldering
Images from a recent community repair event, which was well attended.
Another Parliamentary Repair Cafe took place in June 2025, this time in the House of Lords. It is part of a push for better repair legislation in the UK.
The event was a follow up from the Parliamentary Repair event in 2024 (an earlier post). The aim was to engage UK politicians with repair and reuse, and to build support for the Repair and Reuse Declaration. This will hopefully lead to new legislation to eventually improve our right to repair.
The event was held in partnership with Back Market, and support from SUEZ, Green Alliance and the CRN. A highlight of the day a speech by Circular Economies Minister Mary Creagh, who has set up the Circular Economy Taskforce promising a roadmap for circular electricals (and electronics) by early 2026. It is hoped this will deliver the new legislation.
The event was sponsored by Baroness Parminter and Jeremy Vine. Jeremy told the story of his ‘unrepairable’ Segway, which is less than 3 years old!! Difficult to open, replacement parts unavailable, manufacturer unwilling to help. A story that is all too familiar.
The event offered MPs and their staff an opportunity to get a sense of a community repair event (e.g. a repair cafe) with three volunteers (from the Community Repair Network) performing repairs on the day. Other representatives from Restart and Repair Cafes from across the UK attended to engage with their local MPs.
Over 35 MPs and their staff were in attendance, there was good support for the Declaration and this is hopefully another step towards increased support for the UK Repair and Reuse Declaration and new legislation.
The Restart Project and partners are developing the next wave of Fixing Factories to increase the repair capability on our high streets. This post is a short story of the development of the latest one, in Hackney.
Fixing Factories provide a community resource to help people to get their things fixed and also learn new skills (via workshops). They are based in the community and more easily accessible. They provide a more consistent capability for repair and reuse. Run in partnership with Possible and funding from the National Lottery Climate Action Community Fund they are also resourced by mix of paid staff and volunteers.
The first Fixing Factories were created in Brent and Camden and were covered in earlier posts. Brent was a pilot, located in a local household waste recycling centre; that has now closed. The Camden factory continues and hosts a range of repair and educational events on Thursdays and Saturdays.
This post follows the development of two new facilities: one in Hackney and another in Haringey.
Local bespoke furniture makers OEK , located next door, provided the new ‘fixing factory’ wall signage.
Image courtesy Shelini KotechaHonor from OEK Bespoke
The new manager, Arthur and Shelini, who is managing the Restart’s Fixing Factory programme, began installing the furniture and making final preparations for the opening.
On 23 April the Fixing Factory officially opened its doors.
Cutting the ribbon …
The Hackney Fixing Factory is now operational. you can find details here.
In Haringey, pre-launch events are taking place with community repair events hosted by Haringey Fixers.
The Future
We need more Fixing Factories. Ideally, we should have one on the high street in every major town and in every London borough. We have solutions, we just need to act.
Over the past few months I’ve given a talk at Riverfront Theatre in Newport with …. and held an exhibition and talk with WeFlock at No.1 Church Lane. Much of the project focus now is getting the work and the message ‘out there’, pushing the need to act rather than more photography.
I am fortunate to meet many like-minded people. It is clear that they and the wider public want a better right to repair and more repair capability. We already have so many solutions from the UK, Europe and elsewhere, we just need the will to act. However, our government, our councils and the waste authorities are still slow to respond.
Thankfully, organisations like The Restart Project and Repair Cafe’s continue to support their local communities. They also continue to get media attention, which hopefully will create the ‘nudge’ needed. As a recent example West Central London Fixers – recently helped presenter Jeremy Vine get his Segway fixed, so instead of ‘skipping it’ and buying a new one for around £700, he was able to replace the batteries for around £70.
The message is a consistent one – a significant amount of our broken electronics can be fixed. We know this from surveys done at HWRCs which found nearly half of all items ‘skipped’ were either not broken or could be easily fixed. Yet, many councils simply promote ‘recycling’, which does little more than crush the items and then push them into an inefficient and costly material recovery process. Such a waste!
It is worth highlighting some that do support repair, my own council promote all repair events across the county, as do Medway, Lambeth, Cambridge, Maidstone, Warwick, and Derbyshire, to name a few. This is something that is simple and really costs them nothing to do. It begs the question why are all council’s not doing this?? If your council isn’t, tell them you think they should. Act now.
Then, there are initiatives, like the Repair Finder (run by Frank Schoops at Transition Marlow). This aims to link the public with the network of commercial repairers across the country. Making it easier to find someone to repair your stuff.
There are also resources for education to help the next generation learn about repair. Team Repair was founded by a team of Design Engineers from Imperial College London. who are on a mission to increase STEM uptake and tackle the e-waste crisis, using the magic of repair. Restart at School offers a 10 week enrichment programme run by teachers and educators, with support and materials provided by the Restart Project.
And if you haven’t seen the scale of the challenges, I recommend watching Buy Now: The Shopping Conspiracy, the recent Netflix documentary.
So, despite the failure of institutions, there is a lot going on and the movement is growing. As a result, I’ve updated the Resources page, adding content and improving layout to make it a little easier to find the links. Let’s hope 2025 results in some meaningful action in the UK; time to enact a better Right to Repair.
In support of Repair Day (19th October), the exhibition will highlight the importance of repair and reuse and the need for a better Right to Repair. For more information and events taking place on international Repair Day (19th October) see https://openrepair.org
There will also be copies of the unbroken.solutions photobook to view and copies of the ‘act now‘ zine.
An update on the ‘act now’ campaign to make better use of community facilities for sharing, repair and reuse.
In 2023, I sent ‘unbroken‘ photobooks and ‘act now‘ zines to all major UK councils and local authorities. I have just updated the campaign. More copies of the books and zines have gone to councils that recently changed control. Books have also been sent to the newly elected mayors and to the recently appointed government ministers at DEFRA and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Whilst we really need a better ‘Right to Repair‘, there is still much more we can do with the resources we have.
There are over 1000 under-utilised council-owned properties that are likely suitable for sharing, repair and re-use. Many are empty. Sian Berry (Greens) described these spaces as ‘Dead Spaces‘. They do not need to be dead. If a fraction of these became ‘meanwhile’ use for local communities, it could help reduce waste, reduce council disposal costs, help with cost of living and help build local communities. It really begs the question – so, why would you not want to do this?
The RSA has recently adopted the idea of making better use of these ‘Dead Spaces‘ as part of its Day One Manifesto. This will form part of the ongoing campaign into 2025. More to follow.
International Repair Day (19 October) is fast approaching. As part of that, I am putting together an exhibition to be shown at a ‘meanwhile’ shop outside Leytonstone Station. E11. It is supported by We Flock CIC. More on this in the next few week.
Hosted by Helen Hayes MP, in the Jubilee Room at the Houses of Parliament, the event highlighted the impact of our electrical waste, our options for more repair and reuse and provided an opportunity to support or sign the Repair Declaration. There was also a repair cafe demonstrating repair and repairing items brought in.
Helen Hayes MP, addressing attendees at the Parliamentary Repair Cafe
Repair Cafe groups from all over the UK attended. The event was well attended and more MPs offered support and signed the Declaration. The Repair and Reuse Declaration asks the UK Government to:
– Make repair more affordable, through tax reductions (80% support) and repair vouchers (79% support).
– Expand the UK’s right to repair regulations to cover all consumer products, strengthen design standards and remove barriers to repair for everyone (85% support).
– Introduce a repair index to help the public choose more repairable and durable products (80% support).
– Introduce requirements and targets for reuse and repair to be prioritised over recycling and providing investment to make this a reality. This should be a key part of amended extended producer responsibility rules (83% support).
– Support a new generation of repairers through repair training, accreditation and apprenticeships(85% support).
With a growing list of signatories and cross-party support an improved right to repair will hopefully become law in the next parliament and bring the UK back in one with Europe and US states.
Thank you to all the MPs who signed …. a step in the right direction.
Back in October 2023, an event was held to remind European Parliament members of the issues in repair. On Tuesday 23 April 2024, the European Parliament eventually adopted the directive on the so-called “right to repair” for consumers with 584 votes in favour, 3 against and 14 abstentions. “The rules clarify the obligations for manufacturers to repair goods and encourage consumers to extend a product’s lifecycle through repair.” Whilst it is still short of what is really needed, it represents another step forward, providing:
– Manufacturer has to repair a product for a reasonable price and within a reasonable timeframe after the legal guarantee period
– Access to spare parts, tools and repair information for consumers
– Incentives to opt for repair, such as repair vouchers and funds
and, online platforms will assist consumers in finding local repair services and shops selling refurbished goods.
There are now 30 US States considering or implementing a Right to Repair. four states have enacted a right t Rep[air for consumer electronics. One of the most comprehensive being that passed by Gov. Tina Kotek in Oregon, on 27 March 2024.
On the 17 April, the UK Environmental Audit Committee met to take oral evidence and an update on progress ‘electronic waste‘ as a follow up to a review in 2020. Input was provided by National Association of Waste Disposal Officers, Back Market, iWaste, Beko, Royal Society of Chemistry, Material Focus and Green Alliance. In summary, there has been some limited progress, but there is so much more that can be done.
Recent government proposals remain focused on recycling, rather than repair and reuse. It remains difficult for people to access reuse and repair services, and recycling is the least desirable approach for WEEE. A good summary by the Committee Chair, Philip Dunne – “It appears the government is yet to grasp fully the scale of the e-waste tsunami“. It would seem so.
On 7 May, there will be a UK Parliament Repair Cafe with an opportunity to engage members of parliament in the importance of repair and an improved right to repair. It will also be an opportunity to increase awareness of the Repair Declaration, re-launched at FixFest in 2023.
Given the recent progress in several US States and in Europe, it is an opportunity for the UK Government to step up and make meaningful progress. There are already solutions out there. There are already organisations in place to provide repair and reuse services. We just need better rights.
It felt like a lot had happened in 2023. But already there is much happening in 2024, especially on the campaign front.
In the UK
After months of nudging, a few councils and waste authorities have responded positively to the ‘act now‘ campaign. This aims to provide more support for repair and reuse in the UK. A particular ‘shout out’ goes to North London Waste Authority, Scottish Government, South Cambridge, West Midlands and Powys. They all took the time to respond and provide more information on their commitments.
DEFRA have also responded, but focussed on their policy paper “The waste prevention programme for England: Maximising Resources, Minimising Waste”. This aims “to use fewer new resources, drive up the repair and reuse of existing materials, and increase recycling“. They are currently consulting on “reforming the producer responsibility system for waste electrical and electronic equipment“. There are a number of good provisions (around funding and producer and large retailer responsibilities). But there are major concerns about the proposals to use kerb-side collection for electrical and electronic items. Given that around 40-50% of these items are reusable and repairable, leaving them ‘kerb-side’ is not god. It is likely to render them all useless and simply create more waste! You have an opportunity to provide input to this consultation – the deadline to respond is 7 March 2024, the link is here: https://consult.defra.gov.uk/product-regulation-and-producer-responsibility/consultation-on-reforming-the-producer-responsibil/
In the USA
USPIRG, iFixit and other campaigners continue to make progress on getting state legislatures to adopt Right to Repair. Following success in California, Oregon is adopting a right to repair. Importantly, Google have come out in support of meaningful proposals. These include:
– Repair parts: ensuring that parts are accessible to the public and no parts pairing or registration. This enables small businesses and local repairers to thrive and grow.-
– Accessible tools: and an on-device Diagnostic App to help users test device functionality before and after repairs.
– Clear instructions: with redesigned repair manuals and information on how to order parts, view repair manuals, and run diagnostic tests.
All good stuff. We look forward to Apple and Samsung doing likewise very soon.
In other news
More community repair groups are starting up in the UK. This includes Islington Fixers, who will hold their first event on 20 January 2024 at the Islington Climate Centre. This is in partnership with the Restart Project.
