I work for East London Waste Authority and am project managing the waste prevention programme across Barking & Dagenham, Havering, Newham and Redbridge. With an aim to support residents reduce waste, I am planning a series of pop up repair cafes offering free textile, electrical and bike repairs.

Putting repair into the forefront of peoples minds, providing them with the tools and skills to make the repairs happen seems a win win situation for waste prevention. On a personal note, the empowerment you feel when you’ve worked out why something is broken and then fixing it is amazing, it doesn’t come close to the feeling of buying new.

My most recent repair was a roller inside a printer. For ages the paper kept jamming in my printer (which by the way is probably at least 12 years old). After a quick google of the ‘symptoms’ I worked out the problem, ordered a new part for less than £5 and within a week had fixed it, saving the cost of buying a brand new printer and saving a big electrical item from going to waste. I still can’t quite believe I managed to fix it!