Repair cafe’s have popped up locally over the last fifteen years to combat over consumerism. Volunteers help customers repair an electric, rather than replacing it. In 2024 the European Parliament passed a bill to make repair of electric devices easier, yet this does not endanger the repair cafe’s existence, according to the chairman of Utrecht Oost’s cafe. 

When an electric device breaks, ones first instinct might be to get rid of it and repair it. In the bigger picture, however, this negatively contributes to lots of waste worldwide. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), an estimated sixty-two billion tonnes of e-waste were produced globally in 2024. That same year, however, the European Parliament passed a bill forcing companies to make repair of electric products more appealing to customers and provide easier access to repair.

A problem however, is that electrics nowadays break down easier, compared to a few decades ago. “A vacuum cleaner used to last a lifetime. That has changed”, according to Jan Albert van den Hof, chairman of the Utrecht Oost repair cafe. “Phones, however, seem to only be improving”, he adds. 

How can one person make a small difference in this global e-waste problem? The solution might be local repair cafe’s. Listen to the audio below to learn more.