Gadget-repairing whiz kid transforming trash into recycled treasure
A technological whiz, aged 11, is a new face behind The Bower Reuse and Repair Centre, helping to recycle gadgets and run the Right to Repair campaign.
About a year ago Lachlan Watson collected 30 to 40 busted computers from his school, which were heading straight for the trash.
The 11-year-old repaired each one and donated about 15 to non-profit The Bower Reuse and Repair Centre, on the condition some were donated to asylum seekers.
The gadget-repairing whiz kid still heads to The Bower every Monday today to fix up old computers and iPhones — his specialty.
Lachlan is now the youngest repair assistant for the environmental non-profit, which repairs, re-uses and resells small electronics, wood furniture and bikes.
When Lachlan was in the second grade, he started taking things apart and smashing them to see what was inside.
He first visited The Bower Repair Cafe — a hub where the public can repair their broken items with the help of volunteers — to get the ringer on an old rotary phone fixed. Here, he fell into a deep curiosity.
When he saw the caretaker at Annandale North Public School, putting iMac’s in the rubbish pile, he made sure to go to the bin after school and rescue them.
“They threw out four more computers. I took them home and they all worked,” he said.
“(So) I asked my principal if they had anything else they were going to throw out.”
The computers he did not donate to The Bower went to Annandale Public School through his personal “charity”, Computer Q.
Lachlan asked Griffin Pickard, the Electrical Manager and only paid staff member of The Bower, again and again if he could join the team.
“He came into one of the Repair Cafes and announced his enthusiasm. I was fascinated by his knowledge,” Griffin said.
Griffin said he was impressed that Lachlan could identify a problem, such as computers being chucked into the skip at school, and act on it.
“He comes in one day per week for a couple of hours and does whatever he can. Mostly computers or phones but he’ll take a hand at anything,” he said.
“We work together where we can. Quite often we rely on him for his knowledge of modern technology.”
The Bower is currently running the Right to Repair campaign.
“It’s about pushing these companies into taking responsibility for the entire life cycle (of their products),” Griffin said.
“We are pushing for funding so we can take this to the government. It needs to be legislated on.”
This could include legislation around public access to spare parts, the ability to take products apart, the resources companies are using and the recyclability of individual components of products.
“This does push prices up, but it’s a necessary trade,” Griffin said.
Along with re-sale, Bower works with refugee agencies or victims of domestic violence to furnish new or temporary homes, and collaborates with over 20 Sydney metropolitan councils to amass preloved household goods and find them a new home.
The Bower are currently taking donations for the “Right to Repair” campaign: https://www.givenow.com.au/righttorepair
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