I attended! I too am frustrated with cities’ preferences for recycling over repair and reuse. What else can be done to redirect the material flow?
Staff note: originally posted in: Webinar: Right to Repair in the UK (13 Feb, 7pm UK time)
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First time on here and not sure if my response is okay so please advise if I’m off topic or whatever.
My Council have a scheme whereby people can recycle their small electric items. There are large recycling ‘bins’ just like those for bottles etc in our local car parks, leisure centres etc… It occurred to me that if there was a sign on these bins that said something like, “STOP! Bring your item to our Repair Cafe where our volunteers will try to fix your item for free”. Contact details, QR codes etc were included. Our Council are so impressed with the idea that they are funding our signage for the bins and it will be used in all local government offices, libraries etc etc. where waste is collected. I’d post a picture but can’t work out how to do it. I’m no techy.
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Hi Philip, I like the sound of signage at the bins. Our waste and recycling plant has people there with a big table surrounded by containers accepting tech and electrical items for repair or dismantling.
Hello Lee-Ann,
I’m really excited about my idea and so is the Head of Waste Management at our local Council. Our scheme goes live in about 3 weeks time. Just wish I could post a picture of the small electric items bins and the posters I’ve helped design. I’m thinking that if this concept is successful then I could take it County wide ( Kent. UK) and possibly National.
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Ooppppss! Sorry I posted a reply below. I’m still learning how to navigate this site.
Philip
Me too. I think I’ll mention this to our council.
If it is permissible to share my email on this site I will do so and I can then send pictures of the collection bins and the stickers and posters we will be using.?
Hi folks, love this idea! Just popping as I think this conversation merits its own topic, so I’ve moved it into a new one 
@Philip_Davies, you should be able to upload images straight into a post here. You can either drag and drop them into the box where you write your text, or use the upload button just above that box, as in this screenshot:
You could create a link to an album in Google Photos perhaps
This scheme is not live yet but I’d be more than happy to report back on it when it is. If successful I’d like to promote it further.
If anyone has suggestions/ comments then I’d love to read them.
These pink bins have been employed to collect and recycle small electrical items. I just wanted to take it a step further by repairing rather than re cycling all manner of items saving people money by not having to replace them and saving the planets precious resources. Another benefit is that it will hopefully bring more people and items to our Repair Cafés thus promoting the whole concept and ethos of them.
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I’d be really interested to hear how the scheme progresses. Our local council are hesitant to promote our repair project as they fear they’d be seen as picking ‘favourites’ (although ours is the only voluntary repair project in the council area as far as we know!). Any case studies or examples of this kind of promotion working well would undoubtedly help us make the case with the council. So I’m watching with interest!
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Love this poster Philip! I’m kind of amazed you got permission to put them up on Recycle Your Electricals’ pink bins 
Perhaps ‘our skilled team of volunteers will attempt to repair your item for free’ could be slightly reframed as something like ‘our skilled team of volunteers will help you try to repair your item for free’ (to emphasise the collaborative nature of repairs, and distinguish it from a repair service)?
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Hello Lindsey,
Certainly will keep you/everyone up to date. Also I will get our Head of Waste Management Officer for Gravesham Borough Council to comment if it is successful. Perhaps even make an to introduction to your local council officer responsible for same.
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Hi,
I asked my local Waste Management Officer for permission. He is Very keen to support all repair, reuse schemes as my Repair Cafe is to support his initiatives too. Some of us take part in his Litter Pick initiative as example.
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Thanks Philip. We’ve got a decent relationship with our Waste Community Education Team but I may take you up on that once I see how this year is panning out!
People have been conditioned into believing that by recycling they are avoiding wasting that item and so their conscience is made clear for buying another one. Trouble is, as those of us who think about the subject thoroughly (as-opposed to simply listening to the marketing), much of the environmental cost of recycling is ignored.
When recycling, the materials can, mostly, be processed into something useful. However, the first thing to realise is that the material extracted by recycling is rarely the same as the original material.
Metals are relatively recyclable. However, materials such-as paper-based invariably become something of a lower grade (i.e. printing paper tends to be recycled into cardboard and similar), and sooner or later it will become unusable. For this reason, the term “recycling” is a misrepresentation because it infers that the item can keep coming back as the same thing. So, for a start, the term “recycling” should be replaced with something more akin to “repurposing”.
The second thing to consider is the energy used in manufacture. That can never be “recycled” or even “repurposed”. Even the simple act of say melting-down something to mould it into something else (or even a new version of the original thing) costs the environment in-terms of energy-generation – be-it nuclear, wind/sun (which aren’t “renewable” in any meaningful interpretation of the word), coal, gas, whatever.
The third thing to consider is the impact of transportation. Goods must be transported from the mines to the factories to the shops to the home – and that all costs the environment (even if one uses EVs). Repairing reduces much of that unrecoverable consumption of resources resulting from transportation.
We must start pushing the line that what we call “recycling” isn’t actually “recycling”, and explain that repairing is frequently the least damaging to the environment.
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Couldn’t agree more John!
This is something we touched on in our recent ‘Beyond Recycling of E-Waste’ project, where we found that less than 20% of UK waste facilities offer any kind of reuse option for electronic and electrical devices (and reuse options for other types of products are also very limited)
https://therestartproject.org/beyond-recycling-of-e-waste/
Keep Britian Tidy have also done some interesting work on how to shift pushing people towards waste prevention and de-emphasising recycling as a catch-all solution:
Absolutely. Recycling is the second-worst option, only beaten by landfill.
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