Clean North held a Repair Cafe at Royal Canadian Legion Branch 25 Saturday.
Volunteers repaired small electrical appliances, sewed items of clothing, fixed leaky hoses and pieces of jewellery, stringed guitars and sharpened knives.
“The idea is for local communities to come together, attract volunteers and sponsors and to try to keep materials out of the landfill that don't need to go there,” said Bill Cole, Clean North board chair.
“We want to give those materials an extended life and to teach people to think ‘repair and reuse’ before we think ‘throw away and go buy a new one.’”
Volunteers not only put their repair skills to use but also encouraged others to learn how to do repairs as part of Clean North’s ongoing mission to keep old items out of the landfill.
Clean North was also collecting the following items to recycle:
- Eyeglasses
- Batteries
- Toner cartridges
- Lock City milk bags
- Clean, gently used shoes
Friends of the Library Bookstore volunteers were also on hand with a used book selection.
“There's an International Repair Cafe movement out of northern Europe. They provide a starter kit and guidelines and a few standards to adhere to. They started as a local movement but turned into a global movement,” Cole said.
Clean North’s first Repair Cafe was held in April with a goal of holding two such events a year - one in the spring, one in the fall.
“We’re attracting partners,” Cole said.
“We've got the Royal Canadian Legion hosting us here, we have Cafe 4 Good, Ergo Office Interiors and others. We received a grant from the City of Sault Ste. Marie through their environmental program to help provide a few of the basics for us.”
Cole said it was gratifying, as an environmentalist, to see Saturday’s Repair Cafe in action.
“Everything we do at Clean North is done with ‘think globally, act locally.’ Our landfill has a finite lifespan and we’re volunteering here today to keep more things out of the landfill and keep those things in useful service.”