THE first anniversary is being celebrated this month of Somerset’s Fixy van initiative which encourages repair and reuse of electrical items.

Fixy – it was named after a public consultation – travels around the county giving new life to broken electrical goods and also bangs the drum for the wider ‘repair and reuse’ message.

Nearly 3,000 people have used it since its launch in May of last year.

The anniversary celebrations coincide with this year’s ‘The Big Fix’, a month of repair and reuse activities which started in Devon and has been spreading across the UK.

The Fixy team has attended more than 80 events during the past 12 months, speaking to more than 2,900 people about the benefits of breathing new life into old items.

Many of the events have been alongside or promoting Somerset’s thriving network of volunteer repair groups, highlighting their work and encouraging more volunteers to become involved.

Fixy also runs a ‘tech take back’ service, accepting donations of unwanted or broken smart tech, such as laptops, tablets, and smartphones.

Donations are data-wiped and repaired as necessary by Somerset specialists DonateIT, and passed on to schools, community groups, and families who need them.

More than 1,500 items have been reused in this way since the launch.

‘The Big Fix’ event aims to mend and breathe new life into as many broken things as possible, helping people save money not only by repairing old items but also by passing on skills to fix them themselves in the future.

Somerset Council climate and place portfolio holder Cllr Sarah Dyke said: “Repair and reuse is the way forward, to help reduce our waste and tackle climate change.

“It is great to see many groups starting up across Somerset.

“I was excited to hear that a staggering 1,500 items have been rescued via Fixy’s tech take-back service.

“We are committed to a greener, more sustainable Somerset.

“Our recycling rate has never been higher, but we want to move the conservation on to reusing and reducing.”

Repair groups are available across Somerset, holding regular drop-in events, including this month:

A full list of dates, times and locations can be found on Somerset’s Repair Café Network webpage www.somerset.gov.uk/bins-recycling-and-waste/somersets-repair-network.

Repair groups have been increasing in popularity as people become more budget and environmentally conscious.

They are organised and run by volunteers who offer their time and skills to help mend broken items and keep them in use for longer.

Volunteers also help greet visitors, supply tea and coffee, and restock supplies of cakes and other treats.