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A queue was at the door when Ōrewa’s first Repair Café opened in Ōrewa on February 4.
Repair cafés aim to keep items out of landfill by repairing them wherever possible. Anyone can bring items in to be looked at by a team of volunteer repairers.
The repair cafés are now being held monthly in Ōrewa, thanks to Auckland not-for-profit organisation Doughnut Economics Advocates NZ (DEANZ), supported by Hibiscus Coast Zero Waste and the Hibiscus & Bays Local Board.
People brought a total of 51 items into the Ōrewa Community Centre for the repairers to look at, from toys and radios to ceramics, laptops and coffee machines. Just over half were able to be fully or partially repaired. Where repair was not possible on the day, good advice was given. Sometimes repairs were redirected to local repair shops.
Top of the list brought in for repair were electrical items, and registered electrician Eric Mills was kept very busy.
Toys, including some battery-driven ones, were another product brought in that had caused frustration for people when they simply stopped working, despite fresh batteries. Often getting such items open was a challenge in itself, as they are not designed for repair.
Calls are growing louder for products of all kinds to be repairable, to reverse the ‘throw away’ culture that sees so many things end up in landfill.
DEANZ repair café coordinator,Jaya Muddaiah, says feedback was very encouraging.
A total of 10 people signed up as volunteer repairers for future events. However, more are needed, particularly registered electricians. If you can help, email Sarah Williams, coordinator@hibiscuscoastzerowaste.co.nz
The Ōrewa Repair Café will be held on the first Saturday of the month (the next one is March 4) at Ōrewa Community Centre, 11am-2pm.
