Addressing E-Waste

Electronic waste, commonly referred to as e-waste, is a health and environmental hazard that affects many people and ecosystems around the world. As the volume of e-waste continues to surge, it is imperative this issue is addressed. Contributing to this situation is the Internet of Things (IoT); an expanding industry deploying countless smart devices globally. Prolonging the lifespan of already-deployed devices through acts of repair can help to reduce the impact of IoT on climate change. A sustainable design and innovation approach to addressing this growing problem is to challenge conventional design practices focused on consumption by prioritising community repairability in design. This paper uses an ethnographic and interview approach to explore the challenges of repairing smart devices within community repair contexts. We discuss the impact of fail-fast approaches and the assumptions that repairers hold about the repairability of smart devices. Our findings demonstrate how repair café processes cause smart devices to be filtered out, thereby identifying barriers that designers and repair café organisers must navigate to successfully incorporate the repair of smart products into these settings.