We talked at the Nesta Hot Topics session on how “open data” can help us use things for longer, and have a better idea of how they are recycled at end of life.
Research
Exploring our e-waste: opening gadgets and learning about disposal
We hosted a very fast, two hour exploration of electronic waste at the Open Knowledge Festival. While we owe much of the growth of “Open Knowledge” to physical networks, hardware and electronics, we often ignore its material aspects and the consequences.
Redesigning the inkjet printer – work in progress
This week we participated in the first of three workshops organised by the People’s Design Lab. It was an opportunity to learn from others with a background in design about their frustrations with printing. Interestingly, initial conversations revolved around a deeper question: why should we print at all? Why is it that certain airlines and […]
Let’s rethink and Restart the inkjet printer
On many occasions, the meticulous work of our wonderful Restarters has helped to clean, repair, defeat planned obsolescence and give a second life to printers that were just about ready to be taken to a recycling centre.
Repair Rickshaw Concept
Since we got started, we have been interested in bringing repair back into public spaces and getting people engaged in a hands-on way. This post is about how we arrived at one of our most exciting concepts. Last year, we participated in OpenIDEO’s E-Waste Challenge which asked the question: How can we manage e-waste & […]
Behaviour change and electronics
What if we could hypnotise you into using your e-stuff longer? That would mission accomplished! Loooook into my eyes. Well when we mention “behaviour change” perhaps it sounds like we want to control your thoughts and actions. But what we are most interested in is how to inspire mindfulness and give positive options to people. All […]
What we are throwing away
Our e-stuff is a goldmine. Recently the United Nations University and the Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI) estimated that electronic waste now contains precious metal “deposits” 40 to 50 times richer than ores mined from the ground. Annually $16 billion in gold is built into our electronics and at least 85% is not recovered – lost […]
A repair ecosystem
We’re currently doing some research to test some of ideas about fostering economies of repair, and we thought why not share some of what we found. In this south London neighbourhood, like many, there are a number of mobile unlocking/repair/accessory places. Laptop repair is advertised in a couple of unexpected market stalls, storefronts or cyber […]