Repair Cafés fix throwaway culture for free
Repair Cafés, places where people can bring a wide variety of items from jewellery to bikes, household gadgets, toys, clothing or gardening tools for free repair, are gearing up to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the movement’s inception this weekend.
On 18 October 2009, the first Repair Café was established in Amsterdam, Netherlands, by Martine Postma. The Repair Café movement has now spread to 40 countries across six continents and there are now more than 3,000 Repair Cafés worldwide. Australia’s first Repair Café, The Bower was established in Sydney 10 years ago and is now one of 110 Repair Cafés in Australia.
According to Sustainability Victoria’s CEO, Matt Genever, Repair Cafés not only reduce waste and save people money, they also preserve repair skills in society and promote repairable products we can use again and again. This reduces the volume of raw materials and energy needed to make new products, cutting our CO₂ emissions and moving us towards a circular economy.
“Sustainability Victoria has provided more than $700,000 in funding to five Repair Cafés and other repair initiatives in Victoria including Bayside Council’s Roving Repair Program and Fixable, a free online platform to make repair and reuse easy and accessible. This is all part of our work empowering local communities to avoid waste, reduce emissions and transition to a circular economy,” says Mr Genever.
“Repair Cafés also teach people to see possessions in a new light and appreciate their value. People learn that you don’t always have to throw things away when they break – they can often be fixed. And not only are they sustainable, but Repair Cafés are also good for the hip pocket.”
Repair Cafés are part of a broader movement called the ‘Right to Repair’. The Australian Repair Network represents a wide range of stakeholders who are advocating for Australians to have a Right to Repair.
Professor Leanne Wiseman, Chair of The Australian Repair Network says, “If we gain the Right to Repair, new products will be repairable, and we will be able to repair them anywhere - not just at manufacturer centres. This would save us all money and divert significant volumes of waste from landfill.”
Since 2017, an International Repair Day takes place on 19 October each year to celebrate the power of repair, bring communities together, reduce our impact on the planet and learn new skills.
Community groups and organisations looking to set up their own Repair Café can draw on the collective experience of Sustainability Victoria and the many community repair groups it has supported, which has been presented in a new Community Circular Economy Guide called Insider tips on running a Repair Cafe. The guide steps through the planning, implementation, and evaluation phases, empowering those like Martine to take action.
For more information on establishing a Repair Café or hub, please contact The Australian Repair Network. To find a Repair Café near you, visit the map on The Australian Repair Network’s website.