Lake Mac’s Repair Cafe diverts hundreds of items from landfill

Published on 26 April 2022

An old cat scratching post, a vacuum cleaner, hedge trimmers and mobile phones are among the more than 400 items given a second lease on life through Lake Macquarie’s Repair Cafe event series so far.

The initiative is the brainchild of the Sustainable Neighbourhood Alliance and aims to mend broken items, reducing the amount of waste ending up in landfill.

Cardiff Sustainable Neighbourhood Group Chairperson Gavin Ord has dedicated many hours sharpening and repairing tools since the start of the series in 2018.

“I find it extremely rewarding and I really like to show people how easy it can be to fix objects and maintain them for a long while,” Mr Ord said.

“The world has finite resources and we need to do what we can to live sustainably and help our planet.”

Sustainable Neighbourhood Alliance Leader Sam Doove said 100 people attended the last pop-up event in March.

“I’m encouraging anyone with any broken items to pop in and chat with our friendly team, have a cup of coffee and learn more about the circular economy,” Ms Doove said.

“We have additional volunteers jumping on board who can fix mechanical items like lawn mowers. We’ll also have a doll repairer.”

Clothes, textiles, small electrical appliances and furniture, toys and garden tools can also be brought in to The Repair Cafe at Warners Bay Theatre on Sunday 1 May, 10am-12.45pm.

Lake Macquarie City Council Manager Community Partnerships Andrew Bryant said more volunteers are needed to help.

“I am encouraging anyone with repair experience to put their hand up to help out at these busy events so we can help reach more community members,” Mr Bryant said.

More information can be found at facebook.com/RepairItLakeMac.