Scott Mann has met with The Restart Project in Parliament which spent the day alongside mobile repair business Lovefone repairing MPs' slow, broken and malfunctioning electronics and appliances. In the month before Christmas, disassembling and repairing their own gadgets with talented repair coaches, MPs experienced first-hand how electronic waste has become one of the fastest growing waste streams.
Research suggests that only 13% of people in the UK will repair a broken laptop, despite personal electrical items being the most likely to need maintenance.
The data collected shows that 76% of people who experienced a breakage and didn’t attempt to repair it did so because they either thought it wouldn’t be cost-effective or felt it was time for an upgrade.
Scott Mann said:
"There is a huge amount of electronic equipment wasted every year. Just before The Restart Project visited Parliament, my headphones broke and I wanted to avoid just throwing them away. Thankfully the people at Restart mended them and now they are as good as new."
The Restart Project hosts workshops called ‘Restart Parties’ across London to help residents save money and reduce waste by bringing faulty electrical devices back to life. Volunteers at each event help local residents repair their currently un-used household electrical items, including laptops, printers, radios, lamps and kettles.
Groups in Leicester, Swansea and across the UK have been inspired to host their own ‘Restart Parties’. These events call into question our throw-away economy and show that every day items such as mobile phones and kettles can be brought back to life.
Ugo Vallauri, co-founder at The Restart Project, said:
“We are taking action in communities, sharing skills and making a change, but to really turn things around, we need help from policymakers to address systemic barriers to preventing electronic waste.”
About The Restart Project
The Restart Project is a people-powered platform for change, helping demand emerge for more sustainable, better electronics. It takes local action to prevent electronic waste through hands-on, learning events to help people fix their own electronics. Visit the website at: https://therestartproject.org/about/