Repair Cafe Perth is an initiative based in the Western Australian suburb of Mount Hawthorn that aims to minimise waste and strengthen our community.
Project implemented: October 2017
This project aims to challenge our throwaway culture by helping people to repair their existing possessions, thus breathing a second life into these items and avoiding them being tossed in the landfill.
There is a need in the community for free repair. The benefits to the environment are clear; fewer items produced to replace broken items results in less resources used, less CO2 emitted and less landfill. The overarching aim is to promote a repair culture in a throwaway society and enhance community connections.
We continually develop processes to ensure a smooth operation and policies for problem-free long term operation.
We actively assist with the start up of new Repair Cafes, which spreads repair services to a greater population.
We have one of the largest operations in Australia, with high throughput of repaired items, and engagement with community.
Empowering our visitors with repair skills, reducing consumption of resources and carbon dioxide emissions, giving people from all backgrounds a reason to interact and a sense of belonging in the community.
The Repair Cafe movement started in 2007 in the Netherlands and has spread to over 1,500 locations worldwide. Ours is the first Repair Cafe in WA supported by the International Repair Cafe Foundation and it joins 17 other repair cafes in Australia.
Last year alone, the international effort diverted over 250,000kg waste from landfill. Many of us in Western Australia want to contribute to this important movement and bring back a culture of repairing.