Celebrating Repair Cultures: DICE Network+ Joins Bristol’s International Repair Day Programme
On Friday, 16 October 2026, Diego Bermudez, PhD., Research and Impact Fellow at the Digital Innovation and Circular Economy (DICE) Network+, joined makers, citizens, researchers, and civic leaders at Bristol City Hall for Celebrating Repair Cultures, the citywide programme leading into the 10th anniversary of International Repair Day under the theme “Repair Brings Us Together“.
Electronic Waste, Current States & Changing Practices
In the afternoon public conversation chaired by Felipe Schmidt Fonseca, Diego joined Sean Polden (Last Appliances) and Prof. Laura Fogg-Rogers (UWE Bristol) to explore the realities of electronic waste and emerging pathways to reduce and manage it (see report here).
Drawing on DICE Network+ systems research, Diego highlighted the urgent need to shift from linear consumption; where the UK generates 1.65 million tonnes of e-waste annually (from 1.86 million tonnes of electronics actually bought each year) with less than 1% formally reused and £62 billion in potential value recovered; moving towards hardware life extension (starting with repair), open data sharing, and dynamic Digital Product Passports (DPPs). By connecting industrial-grade device reuse practices and data sanitisation models (such as the regional work with Donate IT, see our case study) with local community networks, the panel demonstrated how tackling e-waste simultaneously preserves embodied carbon and helps close the digital divide.
The Bristol Repair Declaration Debate in Chambers
In the evening, it was an honour to step into the Bristol City Council Chambers to deliver a five-minute positioning statement revisiting the Bristol Repair Declaration; the pioneering citizen-led framework co-created in 2021. Reflecting on how to transition repair from ad-hoc community goodwill into a resilient, digitally enabled socio-technical system, Diego outlined how the DICE Network+ can help bridge academic-industry-policy research and urban practice. Key proposals included co-developing open repair registries, embedding civic repair hubs across neighbourhood anchor institutions to ensure equitable access, introducing municipal repair vouchers, and advocating for open-standard diagnostics and VAT exemptions on repair services.
Find recording here: Bristol Repair Declaration – Chambers Debate
Material Cabaret aboard Lightship 55
The day concluded aboard the historic Lightship 55 in Bathurst Basin; itself an ongoing act of restoration, for the Material Cabaret, hosted by performer and artist Tom Marshmann. Following an excellent performance, a cosy gathering of participants shared personal stories of repair acts from their past, underscoring that repair is deeply relational, grounded in care, and builds lasting community memories.
Warm thanks to Repair Acts, the Bristol Repair Coalition, and Bristol City Council for hosting such a vibrant, grassroots-driven programme, with special recognition to Teresa Dillon and Felipe Schmidt Fonseca for their inspiring leadership and curation.
Access the DICE Network+ Case Study
Having matured into a sophisticated regional hub for device reuse, processing thousands of assets, this case study examines how the charity leverages commercial-grade infrastructure to deliver professional refurbishment and redistribution services addressing the specific needs of users and closing the ‘digital divide’. By treating decommissioned hardware not as waste, but as high-value assets, Donate IT proves that a circular economy is achievable through the marriage of professional security standards and robust community logistics.
Access the DICE Network+ Donate IT Case Study