Repair the gadget or ditch it?

In the light of efforts to counteract climate change, global warming and mounting waste tech is often seen as a solution.

However, there is some evidence that when technology breaks, it often seems simplest to ditch it for a new model rather than repair it.

A team of researchers at University College London has set up a project, the Big Repair Project,  to “explore attitudes to repair, and pinpoint parts of the UK where the mending mindset is thriving”.

“Participants will be asked to complete a survey about different appliances, gadgets and tech, including how important it is to be able to repair them and how long they would typically expect such items to last.”

The research will also collect partial postcode data to find out whether broken items have been repaired and at what costs in order to identify any “repair hotspots” around the country.