There are around two million flats in Berlin. This means that there must also be around two million basements. And there are probably several million household appliances stored in Berlin basements that are no longer used due to defects or blemishes. Despite ambitious climate targets, Germany is a throwaway society that produces vast amounts of electronic waste. This is not surprising. Buying new is usually cheaper than repairing. And discount campaigns such as Black Friday also urge us to replace even functioning products just because they are already a few years old.
The city of Berlin now wants to make repairing household items easier. In addition to the introduction of a repair bonus, the free online platform repami has been launched. On this platform, Berlin’s municipal cleaning service, together with the Chamber of Crafts and the ‘anstiftung’ foundation, lists volunteer repair cafés and repair workshops. As the city of Berlin is aiming to become waste-free by 2030—in other words, in just a few years’ time—such offers are an important step towards a “zero-waste city”.
repami already offers over 150 places to repair your stuff
In November 2024, repami already listed 156 repair cafés and workshops such as shoemakers, tailors, electrical shops and more. While interested parties have to pay for the services of craftspeople, visits to repair cafés are usually free of charge. You can repair the items you bring with you and use tools that most households don’t have. In addition, users receive free advice if they get stuck with their repair.
As repairing items can be a complex process, most organisations focus on specific product categories. Users can therefore filter the entries in repami using dozens of categories. Carola Zarth, President of the Berlin Chamber of Skilled Crafts, sees the new network as an “important contribution to sustainability and to strengthening the skilled crafts sector in our city”.
With its connection to the ‘Netzwerk Reparatur-Initiativen’, repami also has access to a reliable basis. The model of the ‘anstiftung’ foundation has been collecting volunteer repair cafés across Germany for years. Interested parties can use the calendars to view available dates and get in touch with the operators of the facilities via contact information.
The platform connects commercial businesses with voluntary organisations
The combination of craftsmanship and volunteering is what makes repami different. Both free and paid offers are listed, leaving the decision up to the user. Some may want to invest money to repair an item, while others would rather invest time and a bit of elbow grease.
But Berliners don’t have to cover the whole cost of a repair either: With the new repair bonus, people who have electronic devices repaired are reimbursed a portion of the repair costs. The money for this comes from Senate funds and can theoretically also be obtained for repairs via repami. However, some providers on repami point out that they are unable to offer the repair bonus due to time constraints. The repair bonus can only be applied for retrospectively; this results in administrative costs that are unmanageable for some small businesses. You can find out more about the repair bonus and the differences to programmes in other countries here. Beyond Germany, repaircafe.org has a global directory of repair cafes as well as articles on how to repair specific items.
Why bother with repair?
When your kettle stops working, you have two options: repair it or buy a new one.
Kettles are available in supermarkets for less than 20 euros. And buying new means you expect the kettle to last for a few years.
However, the production of even simple electronics requires a lot of energy and resources and releases CO2. Most electronic products are produced abroad and have to be shipped to Germany. At the same time, electronic waste is also a growing problem.
Simple electronic devices can usually be repaired with a new cable or a new fuse. So if you want to live sustainably, you should definitely repair!
We tested out repami in Berlin
The RESET editorial team is based in Berlin, so we were able to test out repami’s features in person. We wanted help replacing a few buttons on a pair of trousers. We filtered using the category “clothing”, enabling us to find suitable repair cafés in just a few seconds. repami shows the repair options on an interactive map so that you can find one nearby. Alternatively, it offers a list of repair cafés and workshops based on the dates they had availability. The outcome? repami made it easy to find help and our trousers were soon fixed.
A practical feature of repami is that cafés and workshops are separated by colour. This keeps the more than 150 entries organised and allows you to maintain an overview of options even in densely populated regions. In our example, we were looking for a repair café and were redirected to the ‘Netzwerk Reparatur-Initiativen’ platform. Here you can find more detailed information about upcoming events and can contact people within the organisation.
The success of a repair in a repair café comes down to your own manual skills. Because of this, it’s useful that repami also lists places where you can get items repaired professionally. In any case, using repami will prevent you from having to buy a new item.
