‘A win-win’: Local towns sponsor repair cafes to fix stuff for free & to keep it out of the trash

If a toaster or a piece of furniture breaks, we usually just throw it away and buy a new one.

But maybe there’s another option.

Many communities are setting up “Repair Cafes” or “Fix-it Clinics” where they’ll try to fix just about anything.

At Winchester’s Repair Café, local residents were having knives sharpened, bikes tuned, and drying racks tightened.

“It’s a community building endeavor that aims to teach people how to repair things rather than throw them away and replace them,” explained Karen Bellacosa who helped launch Winchester’s program three years ago.

They had three sessions last year.

This year they’ll have four.

“We are saving people money,” said Bellacosa.

One man was happy to be leaving with a lamp that now works.

Sara Malcom brought her son’s bike in for a safety check.

“I think people who have skills in certain areas that you probably wouldn’t even know how to find or tap into, that are offering them to the community and getting things back in use, yea, there’s nothing a but a win-win there.”

Malcolm brought in homemade fudge for the two men who fixed her son’s bike.

Zach Zoulias is one of the volunteers. He sharpens knives.

He thinks he’s volunteering for a worthwhile cause.

“It’s really important because there’s such a strong environmental impact from our disposable culture. Being able to keep things going for longer is not only eco-friendly, but it’s just a kinder way to treat all your stuff.”

Repair Cafes or Fix-it Clinics started 15 years ago in Europe to reduce the amount of trash that’s created.

It’s estimated there are 2,500 now operating around the United States.

One of the goals is to change how the public puts emphasis on the “Three R’s” – Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.

Reducing the amount of goods we use is the choice that’s most friendly to the environment.

Waneta Trabert, Director of Sustainable Materials Management for the city of Newton, says reusing is second and recycling is third.

She says reusing isn’t only better for the environment; it also saves taxpayers money.

“It costs money to send a truck out on the street to pick up recycling and the system only works if there’s value on the other side,” explained Trabert. “We need to start accepting that we’re not going to be able to recycle ourselves of this. We need to start emphasizing more on the reduction and reuse of things.”

Bellacosa says their repair clinic is a heart-warming community gathering that generates a positive vibe while transferring skills from one generation to the next.

“The aim is to have each expert talk through what they’re doing, to plant this idea that you don’t need an expert, you can go get the basic tools and do it yourself.”

Learning new skills and helping the environment is all good with Eileen Carney, but she has another motivation for coming to the café to get her knives sharpened.

“I also like saving the money!”

Here are a few of the local events planned:

Winchester will hold another repair café on June 8th.

Salem has a clinic scheduled for May 18th.

Framingham will have a clinic on June 9th.

You can also try http://www.repaircafe.org to search for other events.

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