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Munich’s guide, repairwork day and flea-markets
A guide and a special day to promote repair
 As early as 1994, the city of Munich, in partnership with the Federation of Nature Conservation, published and disseminated a comprehensive list of repair shops in the city. This initiative really answered a demand from the public: the first issue of the Repair Guide run out of supply in a few days only.
The concept of a “Repairwork-day” was launched in June 1997. Then, all inhabitants are invited to bring their broken household utensils and to have them repaired by local craftsmen (free of charge). A first assessment shown that 2/3 of the utensils could be restored by minor repairwork (and low cost). This means that most of the goods were really worth repairing. Consequently, the Repairwork-day is now organised each year.
Munich and 4 other German cities co-operated in 2001 to issue and disseminate some 60,000 Repairing Guides containing some 650 addresses.
This experience demonstrates that consumers are more accessible for product-oriented waste avoidance tips than one might have expected. Repair shops and organisations such as trade organisations, craft and trade, support the initiative by providing a competent guidance service.
Vienna, Salzburg and Helsinki have also published repair guides in the late 1990s.
Developing the second-hand market
Building on the repairing idea, a Second-Hand Guide was published in Munich in 1998. It shows a variety of possibilities for buying second-hand: permanent, regular and irregular flea-markets, second-hand shops for various product groups, classified ads in newspapers, flea markets at municipal recycling centres…
The city itself is selling second-hand goods, through the Resale of Second-Hand Items Department. Over 9 months in 2001, the department sold 133,678 articles collected from the 12 municipal recycling centres and through selective collection of bulky items.
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Vienna’s campaigns and Internet exchange platform
Promoting repair, reuse and rent
In Vienna, promoting repair is part of a 3-fold campaign encouraging consumers to repair, reuse through second-hand goods, and rent instead of buying. The ultimate goal of Vienna is to prompt a shift in lifestyle, to change consumers’ behaviours and attitudes to move towards a “repair society” where people keep their products until their life really expires.
Two Vienna’s repair guides have been published in 1997 and 1998. The latest contains 850 entries for 13 craft industries as well as general repair tips for each industry. 75,000 brochures have been disseminated until the end of 2002. A new issue combining the 2 guides reviewed and complemented has been published in 2003.
A RepairNetWork Vienna was founded by 23 small repair shops and promoted by the Vienna Waste Management Department. The shops have to meet special requirements and they operate a telephone service hotline and forward repair orders to the member shops depending on their speciality.
A survey among 75 users of Vienna’s guides (repair but also rental and second-hand) shows that the main source of information about this brochure is newspapers. The brochure is mainly used for Do It Yourself tools and household appliances. 13% of the respondents have more repair done now and 60% have recommended it to other people.
With this on-going campaign, Vienna aims at raising awareness of both consumers and enterprises that repair is an important aspect of waste reduction. It contributes to the protection of the environment, but also may have a positive effect on regional economy and the employment situation. The upkeep of goods can also shift jobs from the manufacturing to the service sector. This helps to decentralise jobs, increase the number of employees and promote the regional economy. Another positive aspect is that demand for qualified staff increases. In this respect the city opened a “Repair and Service Centre” where unemployed people can find a job.
Vienna also runs a flea market.
An exchange platform for second-hand goods
 In Vienna the concern for the promotion of the second-hand market turned into an Internet exchange platform for second-hand goods. The service was set up by the Municipal Department 22 (Environmental Protection) of Vienna, in collaboration with the Municipal Department 48 (Waste), in March 1999.
The exchange system is divided along four “markets”: second-hand goods, compost, teddy bears (toys) and information. The information market provides online versions of practical guides: repair guide, guide to renting facilities and waste disposal manual. The second-hand exchange is open to private users as well as to commercial operations, second-hand dealers and landscape gardeners.
Assessment of Vienna’s experience
Electrical and electronic equipment constitutes a significant share of the market for repair and reuse. Indeed, Vienna “Repair and Service Centre” repairs every year electric devices to a total amount of some 400 tonnes. The municipal flea market sells about 450 tonnes of second-hand items a year. All in all this is a very significant contribution to waste reduction.
Waste avoidance potential for Vienna
The potential contribution of the repair guide and of the second-hand market to waste prevention has been assessed. The calculations are based on the quantities of machines repaired, rented, sold as second-hand and on the average weight per product. This is then projected to all Vienna’s companies.
 
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