Repair/re-use/recycle

This is the Repair Cafe, a service provided by our local Remakery. 

Once a month Steve and Nicky and a few helpers set up repair-shop in a community venue in town to which anyone can bring broken stuff for mending, or at least for checking to see if repair is possible. Electrical gadgets are probably the most frequent casualties to be brought in but bikes can be fixed too and in the background someone's getting help and advice with mending a pair of work gloves. It's a great opportunity for learning and skill-sharing.

Steve struggled gallantly with our coffee  machine but it turned out to be a goner. The process of investigation demonstrated how hard manufacturers make it for people to take things apart. let alone to put them right. No wonder the world is groaning under the volume of broken stuff (mostly plastic) that no one thinks to repair.

(The Remakery has  so far prevented 7 tonnes of material from entering the waste stream by rescuing broken stuff and either returning it to its owners or re-selling it in its shop.)

Steve had better luck with my battery-powered magnifier which responded to some judicious soldering and crimping of the metal contact strip.