Cornell Hosts Annual Earth Day Repair Fair to Combat E-Waste

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The fourth annual Earth Day Repair Fair is scheduled to take place on April 22, 2026, at Cornell University. The event, hosted in the Gates Hall lobby, aims to combat the growing global crisis of electronic waste by providing community members with the tools and expertise to extend the operational lifespan of their hardware. The fair is open to students, faculty, staff, and local residents of Ithaca, who are encouraged to bring broken or aging electronics for assessment and potential restoration by local repair experts.

Why it matters

Global electronic waste reached an estimated 62 million tons in 2022, and projections indicate this figure will climb to 82 million tons by 2030. Local efforts like the Repair Fair serve as a practical response to these trends by promoting a culture of repair over replacement, reducing the environmental impact of technology disposal.

The details

The fair will run from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, April 22, 2026. Technical support will be provided by local repair experts and members of the Cornell and Ithaca reuse communities, who will offer hands-on troubleshooting and diagnose issues for a wide variety of everyday electronics, including laptops, desktops, keyboards, mice, and headphones. Beyond simply fixing devices, the event is designed as an educational opportunity, with volunteers teaching basic repair skills to empower participants to better maintain their own technology.

• The fourth annual Earth Day Repair Fair is scheduled for April 22, 2026.
• The event has been running for the past three years.

What’s next

The event organizers will be accepting donations of broken or aging electronics in the weeks leading up to the fair, and are encouraging community members to sign up as volunteers to provide technical support.