Published Wednesday 22 January 2025 at 11:31
A brand-new Repair Space has just launched at The Making Rooms in Blackburn, aiming to tackle e-waste and promote digital inclusion.
And staff and volunteers at the popular creative hub have set an ambitious goal – to repair and restore 1,000 laptops in the first 12 months, gifting them to those in need.
The project is one of only eight nationwide selected by the Time After Time fund supported by Virgin Media O2 and Hubbub.
Located within The Making Rooms building in Exchange Street, the Repair Space will equip volunteers with skills to fix digital devices, saving them from landfill.
Restored devices will then be donated to residents who don’t currently have access to technology.
The Repair Space officially launched at a special event at REEL Cinema on Friday (January 17), just as exciting plans to expand The Making Rooms were also revealed.
Lab Director, Tom Macpherson-Pope highlighted the urgency of addressing e-waste, saying:
Shockingly, over 57 million tonnes of e-waste was produced in 2021, and this could rise to 80 million tonnes a year by 2030. It’s the fastest-growing waste stream globally.
At The Making Rooms, we want to try and help combat this by teaching people how to repair unneeded or unwanted devices, saving them from landfill and giving them to those who need them, where possible.
The idea was inspired by creative leaders who visited The Making Rooms from across Europe in 2023.
We’ve since drawn inspiration from best practice globally and cutting-edge tech to create this innovative initiative all based on what people have said they’d like to see from a Repair Space locally.
The Repair Space is one of four sustainability labs at The Making Rooms, alongside the Eco Lab, Fabric Lab, and Precious Plastic Blackburn.
The proposed £1.5m expansion could unlock new spaces for all four, making use of the building’s basement and rooftop too.
Tom added:
The Making Rooms is a vibrant community hub where people from all walks of life come together over everything from classics like laser cutting and 3D printing to mould making and electronics development.
With our passionate volunteers – one as young as 13 – we’ve already restored over 100 laptops through the new Repair Space.
Our goal of restoring 1,000 laptops in a year is ambitious, but we have the drive, determination, and skills to make it happen.
Laptops have already been donated by Blackburn with Darwen Council, Graham & Brown, and Jam Coding.
Using software donated for free by Cedar, the devices are securely wiped of all data to ensure they can be re-used at no risk to the original owner.
Councillor Phil Riley, Leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council, said:
It was fascinating to be at the launch event and hear all about this new project – another thing to make us hugely proud of The Making Rooms.
The work The Repair Space will undertake is hugely important – in helping to tackle e-waste and around digital inclusion too.
We often have makers from right across Europe travel to Blackburn just to visit The Making Rooms – it’s a brilliant space and a brilliant asset for our borough.
If you haven’t already, you must pay them a visit.
The Making Rooms is also home to top creatives, including the team behind the award-winning National Festival of Making and Culturapedia – both Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisations.
The plans for a new extension were detailed in a new planning application submitted last week – you can read more about them by clicking here.
The basement alone could double the amount that can be made there, with a wide and varied remit – everything from agriculture robotics to cyber security, podcasting, ceramics, metal work, plastic recycling, textiles and the device repairs.
The new, additional storey in the roof space would offer a study room, breakout space and outdoor terrace with views right over Blackburn’s beautiful and historic buildings and on to the rolling moors over Darwen.
The new proposals also look to make the whole building fully accessible – something the team is passionate about.
Since opening in 2016, The Making Rooms has helped its visitors – in their tens of thousands – gain and develop technical and creative skills, in everything from ceramics to 3D printing, mould-making and electronics.
Thanks to the team working incredibly hard to secure funding, almost everything is free to access, including a Fab Lab that is open to the public every Saturday.
For more on the Making Rooms and Repair Space, including opening times, head to: www.makingrooms.org