The highly innovative Fixy project, a mobile, awareness-raising repair van, was established in 2022 thanks to funding through the Ecosurety Exploration Fund and following research into reuse which funded by Somerset Waste Partnership (SWP).
Working in partnership with Donate IT and Somerset Council, Fixy is a mobile reuse initiative educating Somerset residents on the importance of using electricals sustainably, growing public knowledge and confidence in electrical repair and reuse alongside recycling to reduce electrical waste across the county.
Resource Futures has managed the project since its inception, providing project management, specialist sector knowledge and community links to support and promote regional repair groups and find new volunteers for them. Resource Futures directly oversees the Fixy van’s activities, hosting nearly one hundred pop-up events to date.
Fixy offers a regional solution for a national e-waste problem. The UK is currently the second highest e-waste producer per capita globally; a Material Focus survey highlighted there are 20m unused-but-working electrical items worth a combined £5.63bn are being hoarded in UK homes.
Mainstream repair and reuse of electrical items is typically limited by barriers including repair costs, low confidence, data concerns and low engagement.
As part of its work Fixy runs a ‘smart tech amnesty’ service, accepting donations of unwanted or broken smart tech. DonateIT data-wipes and refurbishes these as necessary – alongside items collected at its 48 drop-off points in Somerset and Dorset – and passes them onto schools, community groups and families who need them.
This provides vital access to essential online services, putting Fixy on the front line of digital poverty and social exclusion.
Fixy’s pilot phase saw 1,260 items refurbished and donated to those in digital poverty or else diverted from landfill.
83% of interviewed participants felt ‘very or quite committed’ to repair activities after engagement. The scheme has since been extended, including trialling small electricals recycling for flatted properties.
Since its inception, Fixy has helped to take the reuse and repair of electricals from ‘niche to norm’:
A survey revealed that members of the public encountering Fixy revealed that the project had:
- Helped 54% to understand more about the importance of repair and reuse
- Helped 23% to value their possessions more
- Made 50% think more about purchasing refurbished or second-hand items
- Helped 61% feel better informed about where and how they could get things repaired
- Enabled 38% to talk more knowledgably about repair and reuse to others
- Got 23% thinking more about volunteering their skills
- Made 77% aware that old smart tech can be repaired and passed on to others
Fixy’s pilot phase was funded by The Ecosurety Exploration Fund until March 2023, with funding for a further year being provided by Material Focus. In between these funding cycles Somerset Council and its collections contractor, SUEZ, have provided bridge funding to enable project continuity and avoid a loss of momentum.
Make an impact in your community
Chat to our community action team and find out how we can help you bring people together and make a positive impact in your area or sector.
Have a question for our team? Fill in the form and we’ll respond promptly.
