Volunteers are saving the environment one fixable item at a time

VOLUNTEERS from Repair Cafe Surf Coast are giving back to the community and environment one fix at a time.

On the first Sunday of each month visitors bring worn out and broken things to be repaired by volunteers at Repair Cafe Surf Coast, saving broken things from landfill by repairing instead of discarding.

Newly semi-retired Anglesea resident Jerry Randall was looking for a way to give back to the community and environment when he started volunteering at Repair Cafe Surf Coast.

“With more time on my hands I wanted to do something for the community, but more than that, I wanted to do something for the environment as well. Broken doesn’t have to mean discarded,” Mr Randall said.

“You don’t have to be a volunteer repairer yourself to either gain benefit or to give benefit to our environment.

“In the past I’ve been guilty of too readily disposing of broken household items without thinking of the implications: more items go to landfill, and then the cycle of purchasing something new and the resources required to make that happen.

“Repair Cafe Surf Coast not only provides a place for people to bring along their broken kettles and lamps or their kid’s favourite toy that no longer lights up or makes a noise, but also a place to bring garments that need patching or buttons re-sewn.”

 

Mr Randall took up a volunteer photography role, giving him a front row seat to watching the significant environmental headway Repair Cafe
is making.

In its sixth year the Repair Cafe has already saved over 2.8 tonnes from landfill and welcomed almost 1000 visitors through the doors.

In total 75 per cent of items have been fixable on the day, or advice has been given for actions to help repair them.
Anglesea Ward councillor Mike Bodsworth said Repair Cafee Surf Coast was playing its part for the environment and supporting the council’s goals of a more sustainable future, encouraging locals to make the most of this innovative group.

“A simple action such as taking an item to the Repair Cafe will help challenge society’s throwaway culture,” Cr Bodsworth said.

“Our community vision is to leave the Surf Coast better than we found it, while one of our council goals is to divert more material from the waste stream, Repair Cafe is certainly playing its part to support this.”

The next Repair Cafe Surf Coast will be held on Sunday, April 3 at the Anglesea Memorial Hall between the times of 10am and 2pm.

To find out more, get valuable sustainability tips or to stay-up-to-date follow Repair Cafe Surf Coast on Facebook.