documentary

unbroken.solutions Exhibition in London 14 – 27 October

Recovered copper and metals after 'burning' electronics

The next unbroken.solutions exhibition will take place in London at No. 1 Church Lane, Leytonstone, E11 1HG (Leytonstone tube) from 14 to 27 October.

Repair events will also take place in the exhibition space run by @Forest.Fixers (Restart Project) on 15 to 18 October.

Recovered copper and metals after ‘burning’ electronics

Exhibition dates and times: 14 October to 27 October (Mon-Fri 14:00-18:00 daily)

Entry: FREE

Repair events by: Forest Fixers @forest.fixers on 15 to 18th October 10:00-13:00

Supported by: WeFlock CIC https://www.goodshepherdstudios.com

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.

Campaign Re-fresh

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.

Report for Microsoft confirms the benefits of Repair

An independent report, commissioned by Microsoft confirms that repairing devices reduces waste and climate emissions.

The study compared replacement versus factory or authorised repair for different Microsoft products. The product included Surface Pros, Surface Book and Laptop Studio.

The study found that, compared to device replacement, all forms of repair offer significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emission and waste reduction benefits. (For the devices studied, repairing can yield up to a 92% reduction in potential waste and emissions.)

It also found that design has significant potential to reduce carbon and waste impacts. Design for repair helps repair and reduces harmful impacts.

Finally, it highlighted that transportation logistics can play in contributing to overall GHG emissions associated with repair services. “To further reduce waste and GHG emissions, Microsoft is advised to take steps to expand repair locations and capabilities across more devices and to promote mail-to repair services“. 

Manufacturers need to do more to enable repair.