Experts warn Australia is becoming a dumping ground for up to $13 billion worth of household electrical equipment imported each year. Much of it cannot be easily repaired, if it breaks down. A grassroots movement is working to change that.
"This is a hair straightener, which I can't fix it today. My suggestion is if you take it to the community recycling centre."While Ian had no luck this time, around two-thirds of the 1,000 items brought to the Lane Cove Repair Café so far this year were mended."Today we'll be doing repair in household electrical items, pants and shirts and things that need mending, jewellery, ceramics, shoes, bags. And we'll also be sharpening tools.
"For people who brought heirloom items that maybe they have got it from their family back home, we would be one of those few places that will actually look at it and repair it, free of charge."She is qualified in psychology and, after working as a counsellor at TAFE, spent 20 years helping migrants and refugees improve their English language skills.
She is now one of Australia’s repair café volunteers, and the group includes retired engineers, jewellers, and tailors. "I make the cappuccino and all the homecooked little snack things for the volunteers and also for the visitors. In retirement it's really, really important to find something that you're passionate about and for me it's finding the repair cafe and believing in what it does."The movement started in Amsterdam as chair of the Australian Repair Network, Professor Leanne Wiseman from Queensland’s Griffith University explains.
"The International Repair Cafe movement just celebrated its 15th anniversary. There are now over 3,000 repair cafes around the world in 40 countries. It's wonderful to see people come together er and that's really a great way to save money, to get your clothing fixed, to get your appliances fixed.""The national household appliance market in Australia is projected to reach over $13 billion in 2024, and that figure is growing every year.
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