A new initiative matching fixers to broken items is helping Knox Repair Cafe save hundreds of kilograms from landfill.
The cafe operating at Ferntree Gully and Rowville has received council funding to establish a repair matching platform. A bit like Airtasker, the platform will link people with broken items to fixers who have the relevant skills.
Last financial year, its volunteer members saved 295 kilograms of small electrical goods and furniture, bikes, clothing and other commonly-fixed items from the tip.
The Cafe, part of an international movement, was founded by Mark Glazebrook who advertised on Facebook to start a local group.
Volunteer coordinator Stephanie Mapleson was among about 15 people to attend that first meeting.
"He put it to us, wouldn't it be great if we could do this in Knox - we could reduce the amount of hard waste that goes to landfill and thereby reduce the greenhouse gas emissions," she says. "With my husband, Paul, we thought it would be something great we could do for the community, in the community, together. And as a social worker, I was really keen on the social aspect of somewhere for people to go outside the home."
Council has awarded the Cafe an $11,000 grant, which it will use to grow its operations.
"Four years later, all our original volunteers are still with us," Stephanie says. "Our aim with the funding is scaling up. So, we're looking to double or triple the number of people we can get through the doors. Also, we want to set up an online repair matching platform, which is something that already has a precedent in Europe, where the 'right to repair' is very big."
The right to repair basically refers to the right to repair something yourself or have it repaired by a repairer of choice.
"The Right to Repair movement demands that repairers, including Repair Cafes, have access to the information, parts and/or software available from the manufacturer to effect a repair. After all, if you buy it, you own it," Stephanie says. "We are hoping we can get hold of some open source software that will allow us to set up a booking system. People would be able to hop on and register the item they've got to fix. Our fixers at the other end would then hop on and say, for example, 'Ooh, lawnmower, that's a good match for me'."
Knox Repair Cafe operates on the second Saturday of the month from 10am-12pm at Knox Environment Society nursery, 1010 Burwood Highway, Ferntree Gully, and on the fourth Saturday of the month from 10am-12pm at Rowville Men's Shed, Police Road, Rowville.
For more information, visit knoxrepaircafe.com
