Aireys Inlet Repair Café set to expand

SIX events, 32 volunteers, 214 items and an estimated 523 kilograms of waste saved from landfill – it was an impressive debut in 2017 from Repair Café Surf Coast, which will be expanding this year.

The café will spread from its regular base at Aireys Inlet Community Hall, and venture to Bellbrae and Anglesea. The community-driven initiative sees volunteers share their skills and fix items. By doing so, they are helping people resist the throwaway culture and diverting waste from landfill.

Repair Café Surf Coast co-founder Jo Murray was pleased to announce that the café would rotate between three venues this year.

“Last year we had people coming to us from all over the shire and also from towns on the Bellarine Peninsula and inland from Birregurra and Colac,” she said.

“By moving around this year, we’re hoping to spread the message to a wider audience and broaden the reach of our repair message. Maybe other towns will want to set-up their own Repair Cafes.”

Repair Cafes are a global movement, with meetings held in locations across the world to help promote a sustainable future with less waste.

“For us, it’s about empowering people by showing and teaching them how to repair,” Ms Murray said.

“We also want to build a resilient community and encourage connections between locals, so when visitors and repairers see each other down the street, they say hello.”

Surf Coast Shire councillor Martin Duke was happy to see the growth of Repair Café Surf Coast, which welcomed 152 people last year.

People presented 214 items – 72 per cent were fixed, 14 per cent were given advice and 14 per cent could not be repaired.

“It’s fantastic to see community-led initiatives like this that are setting an example,” Cr Duke said.

“By choosing to re-use rather than throw away, the Repair Café attendees and volunteers are playing their part in leading a more sustainable life.”

2018 Repair Café Surf Coast
March 4 – Bellbrae
April 8 – Anglesea Memorial Hall
May 6 – Bellbrae
August 5 – Aireys Inlet
September 9 – Anglesea
October 7 – Bellbrae
November 11 – Aireys Inlet
December 2 – Anglesea