Your say / UWE Bristol
‘Adopting a repair and reuse ethos in 2026 is more than just good intentions’
At the start of a new year, many of us will be setting resolutions for the year ahead.
Whether you’re a believer in resolutions or not, the new year offers a perfect opportunity to think about the changes – no matter how big or small – that will make a difference to your life and those around you.
Each year, millions of tonnes of perfectly usable materials are discarded, fuelling a throwaway culture that wastes money and harms the environment. Circular economy initiatives, such as repair, reuse and refurbishment, directly address this by extending product lifespans, cutting waste and reducing carbon emissions.
Adopting a circular economy mindset in your daily habits in 2026 can save you money, keep items out of the waste stream and, as we’ve seen at UWE Bristol, spark meaningful conversations about sustainability.
At UWE Bristol, we have a number of initiatives on campus that members of the local community can access.
Our Repair Cafe is run by students, technicians, staff, community volunteers and industry helpers, repairing items brought in by members of the public for free.
Running every second Wednesday of the month during term time at our Frenchay campus, this is an ideal opportunity to bring along household items – from electricals to clothing – to be repaired.
UWE Bristol’s repair cafe is just one of numerous similar initiatives across the city.
The Repair, Share and Reuse map gives a comprehensive overview of local repair cafes, developed by UWE Bristol’s MAKERS project in partnership with Share Bristol and the Bristol Repair Coalition, a city-wide alliance of community groups, social enterprises, local businesses, universities and city partners, working together to transform how Bristol uses and cares for materials, products and waste.
The university also works in partnership with Share Bristol to host a Library of Things, also at our Frenchay campus, giving the local community access to a wide range of items – from DIY tools and kitchen equipment to camping gear, musical instruments and games – without the need to buy new.
UWE Bristol’s Furniture Reuse Marketplace helps give surplus university furniture and equipment a second life, with items that can’t be reused on campus offered to community groups, schools and local charities at no cost to them.
UWE Bristol became the first UK university to sign the Repair and Reuse Declaration as a whole institution
Adopting a circular economy ethos in your day-to-day life is in part down to reducing your need for new products by keeping valuable materials in use for as long as possible and minimising electronic waste.
There are a number of local enterprises that refurbish redundant IT equipment, giving quality tech like laptops a new lease of life. And every refurbished laptop represents fewer raw materials mined, less energy and water consumed and lower carbon emissions.
One such business is Enviro IT, founded by UWE Bristol alum Sam Hodgson and based at our Sustainability Hub, which began as a student enterprise project at UWE Bristol and has grown into a thriving business refurbishing IT equipment.
Through careful refurbishment and secure data destruction, devices are made accessible at affordable prices to individuals and those who might otherwise face financial barriers. (For those interested: Sam is currently looking to partner with organisations willing to donate their old laptops so they can be responsibly refurbished and reused.)
Giving yourself the skills to take on repair projects is another great intention to set for 2026.
For cyclists, we bring Bike Bristol onto two of our campuses bi-monthly to deliver bike maintenance workshops for students, staff and the public, providing people with the skills to carry out essential bike maintenance themselves.
“Adopting a repair and reuse ethos in 2026 is more than just good intentions”
We’re seeing the difference embedding circular practices is making within our own organisation and for the environment. By engaging staff and students in repair and reuse, we’ve saved more than 76.7 tonnes of waste since first launching our initiatives in 2023.
This equates to more than £2m in cost savings to students, staff, community partners and the university as a whole, from our Sustainability Hub and Furniture Reuse Marketplace alone (calculated by considering the cost of items had they been bought new).
In 2025, UWE Bristol became the first UK university to sign the Repair and Reuse Declaration as an institution, calling on policymakers to strengthen support for repair and reuse as key tools in tackling climate change and building a circular economy.
By signing, the university reaffirmed its commitment to prioritising repair and reuse over disposal, both on campus and beyond.
The new year offers an opportunity to commit to doing things differently. Circular economy initiatives can help you to make savings, develop green skills and prevent items from becoming waste. It’s more than just good intentions – repair and reuse is measurable, impactful and supports a more sustainable way of living.
This is an opinion piece by Kat Corbett, head of circular economy at UWE Bristol.
UWE Bristol are member of the Bristol24/7 Better Business network, an initiative to help businesses thrive while creating a positive impact on Bristol and the people who live here. As part of their membership, businesses can publish member news stories like this. For more information, visit my.bristol247.com/better-business
All photos: UWE Bristol
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