Hitchin Repair Café revives items destined for landfill

Repair Café, hosted by Hitchin Hackspace, is organised by Plastic Free Hitchin every few months.

Revived following the pandemic, the café is staffed by friendly and skilled volunteers ready to repair everything including electrical, mechanical and wearable items.

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The latest was held on March 4, with 52 items being brought along and 69 per cent – 36 items – were fixed for grateful members of the Hitchin community, the rest being pointed in the right direction.

The repair café is calling for more volunteers (Image: Hitchin Repair Café)

A spokesperson for Plastic Free Hitchin said: "It’s all part of our constant battle to reduce unnecessary waste – the doctrine of Plastic Free Hitchin.

"The textile industry accounts for 10 per cent of harmful emissions released into the environment; we send 360,000 tonnes of clothing, worth around £140m, to landfill each year.

"The amount of electronic goods we send to landfill in the UK annually weighs in at gargantuan 155,000 tonnes. The same research showed that 68 per cent of consumers find it too difficult to repair their devices when something goes wrong while 71 per cent find it too expensive."

"And here’s where the Repair Café comes in."

Hitchin Repair Café (Image: Hitchin Repair Café)

The next repair café in Hitchin will take place on July 8. Volunteers who would like to get involved can email hitchinrepaircafe@gmail.com.

If you have something that needs repairing, booking is essential and slots are limited. 

To book, go to plasticfreehitchin.wordpress.com.

Slots are typically 30-40 minutes. Donations are suggested but are not mandatory.

A new repair café in Letchworth is due to be organised by The Garden Shed. Go to letchworthgardenshed.com for details.