Highlights
- Providing a free e-waste recycling service, diverting 2.2 tonnes of electronic waste from landfill, repurposing the waste to help people in need.
- Gifting refurbished IT equipment to local households via charities.
- Running workshops on repair and reuse skills, also offering internships and volunteering opportunities.
- Working with community groups and businesses to tackle waste, poverty and inequality.
- Resilience; adapting their business during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Edinburgh Remakery is an award-winning Social Enterprise with charitable status who promote a culture of zero waste through education around repair and reuse. As a result of COVID-19, Edinburgh Remakery has adjusted its business model and rebranded as Edinburgh Remakery: Leith E-waste and Education Hub.
Prioritising the e-waste side of their business during the pandemic (ceasing their furniture refurbishment), a free IT disposal service for businesses was launched, incorporating the selling-on or gifting of refurbished IT equipment. An Education Hub was set up to provide workshops for individuals and community groups on repair and reuse skills, and offer internships and volunteering opportunities. These initiatives have increased the number of businesses disposing of their e-waste in a sustainable way, and the number of organisations seeking refurbished IT equipment.
Additional funding enabled Edinburgh Remakery to bring staff out of furlough to specifically work on these services, allowing areas of multiple deprivation within Edinburgh to access much needed refurbished laptops and PC systems and divert electronic and electrical equipment from landfill. As of October 2020, 2.2 tonnes of “electronic waste” had been refurbished and 36.8 tonnes of CO2 saved, making a significant contribution to Edinburgh’s ambitious 2030 carbon savings targets. The service has helped over 400 households save around £53,600. Collaborating with 30 charities has allowed the Remakery to gift laptops to individuals and families, helping people who were facing digital isolation during COVID-19, keeping them connected to friends, family and vital services.
The Remakery devoted time during COVID-19 to social media posts that highlighted the case studies from both the business and beneficiaries’ perspectives. They secured a grant to create an AdSmart Sky TV campaign targeting businesses that could potentially donate their end-of-life IT equipment. This was a first for the Remakery and the impact of this campaign exceeded all expectations.
The main focus moving forward is to continue engaging with businesses to help them find an ethical and environmental means of disposing of their e-waste. Leith E-Waste IT Disposal Service for Business is a sustainable business model and one that helps the planet, people and pounds. The project demonstrates that Green Recovery can make business sense and provide social value.