West of England Mayor supports circular economy at UWE Bristol Repair Café

The University of the West of England (UWE Bristol) welcomed a special guest to its Repair Café as the Mayor of the West of England, Helen Godwin, attended the free event to have her family’s cuckoo clock repaired by a team of staff, student and community volunteers.

The Repair Café offers staff and students of UWE Bristol and members of the public the chance to have their broken items fixed for free at the university’s School of Engineering at Frenchay campus.

The Mayor brought her family’s cuckoo clock to the Repair Café after its mechanism stopped working. Local self-taught clock repairer and Repair Café volunteer Mike Hancock was able to diagnose the most likely issue with the clock and advise how to repair it.

Since its launch in 2023, the Repair Café has run 22 events, with over 1,660 hours volunteered. More than 600kg of waste have been prevented from reaching landfill, an estimated 4,628kg of estimated Co2 emissions prevented – the equivalent of 77 tree seedlings grown over 10 years.

Held every second Wednesday of the month during term-time, the Repair Café is run by students and staff along with community and industry repair volunteers. Supporting UWE Bristol’s circular economy ethos, items that can be repaired include electricals and small appliances, clothes, and anything that can be glued, soldered or stitched.

Helen Godwin, Mayor of the West of England, said: “It was brilliant to spend time at UWE Bristol’s School of Engineering taking part in the Repair Café - alongside my mum dad who brought their cuckoo clock for a bit of TLC.

“Initiatives like this are such a great example of our community coming together. Experts are mentoring and working with young people, passing on practical skills while helping people to fix and reuse things they care about.

“It also shows how reuse and repair are part of our region’s DNA - bringing people together, sharing knowledge, and celebrating the good things happening across the West of England.”

Kat Corbett, Interim Head of Circular Economy at UWE Bristol, said: “We’re so happy Helen stopped by the Repair Café to make use of the skilled staff, students and members of the public that volunteer here and collectively support people with the cost of living while also helping them to live more sustainably.

“As a university, we’re committed to reducing waste and embracing a circular economy. We’d really encourage members of our local community to make use of this free service available to them and have their own items repaired, like Helen.”

Members of the public can sign up to have their items repaired at upcoming Repair Café events on UWE Bristol’s website.

Dr Laura Fogg Rogers, Associate Professor Engineering in Society, who leads student engagement in the repair cafe and community projects, said: “Our Repair Café events empower students to develop their skills to repair items, as well as gaining employability experience. Events like this are a great example of the Everyday Economy, and a growing sector for green jobs. That’s why we support the Bristol Repair Coalition to grow the repair and reuse movement across the West of England.”