New Wrexham repair café aiming to reduce waste and fix items for free

Wrexham’s first ‘repair café’ will launch in the town centre next month in a bid to encourage people to fix items rather than throw them away.

Live Green with Rosadonna (an eco wares cottage business based in Wrexham) is organising the bi-monthly repair cafes at the Wrexham Enterprise Hub

At Repair Cafés, volunteer repair experts are available to mend items free of charge. Tools and materials are on hand.

Visitors can bring along their broken items from home to be fixed – objects like clothing/ textiles, electrical appliances, bicycles and furniture. There is also the chance to sit with the repair experts and learn how to repair the items themselves.

There are over a thousand Repair Cafés around the world, with the movement itself starting in Amsterdam in 2010 in response to the unsustainable growth of landfill and waste

Locally the repair café has been set up by Live Green with Rosadonna, a small cottage business based in Wrexham, who create eco wares and raise awareness of the climate emergency and how to incorporate small changes into everyday lives.

Sharing repair skills is also meant to build community. People discover hidden know-how and practical skills in others around them and can pass on these skills to their friends and neighbours.

Jayne Francis-Headon, said: “We don’t tend to ‘fix’ things anymore, we simply throw them away. There is an easy way to purchase more through the internet or from large corporate stores.

“Or for the people who struggle financially find a way to go without. So why not fix the things we already own? By having the know how or knowing where to take things that can be fixed for free makes a massive difference to people’s lives and to the saving of our planet.”

Organisers have approached local businesses for donations of cakes to refresh the volunteers and those that bring their items to be fixed.

Repair Café visitors can find out online nearer the time which items will be repaired at each session.

“The more volunteers with special skills we have, the more items can be fixed, and everyone volunteering can take on a role that suits them,” added Jayne.

“For these events we need not only experts in their field but those that can carry out item triage at the front desk, serving cakes and drinks, manning information stalls and generally welcoming and ensuring every visitor is ok. Everybody is welcome.”

The first Wrexham Repair Café takes place at the Wrexham Enterprise Hub on Saturday 16th November, 12pm-3pm.

Anybody keen to know more or to volunteer can contact Live Green with Rosadonna via their Facebook page or email [email protected].