Who’s Who in 2022, Environment: Repair Café Redcliffe Peninsula

Members of the Repair Café Redcliffe Peninsula gathered in November to celebrate the group’s second anniversary and the thousands of tonnes of items they had saved from landfill.

More than 40 people attended the celebration, including volunteers, repairers, community members and politicians.

Repair Café Redcliffe Peninsula Co-ordinator Les Barkla told Moreton Daily the aim of the group was to save the environment by reducing the number of items going to landfill.

“We need to get industries to start producing quality items rather than rubbish that people need to replace every 12 months or two years after their warranties have expired,” Les said at the time.

“A lot of those items need to either go back to the manufacturer or be sent to one of their licenced repairers, which can be pretty expensive.

“We need items that are better built and last longer so we can keep these items from ending up in landfill.”

Les estimates the group has saved more than 1.1 tonnes of items ending up in landfill during its first two years.

During this time, members have seen and repaired some beautiful antique items including century-old clocks and sewing machines.

“People have lots of things stored away in their cupboards at home gathering dust, so it’s nice to be able to repair them and give them a new life,” Les said.

“We do get some really beautiful old items that have lasted a long time, and to see the look on people’s faces when we are able to fix these antique items, it’s priceless.

“That means the items can then continue to be passed down through the generations, which is amazing.”

One of the special guests in attendance on the day was Professor Leanne Wiseman from Griffith University, who is a driving force behind the right to repair movement in Australia following the recent 2021 Productivity Commission Report.

About Repair Café Redcliffe Peninsula

The Repair Café Redcliffe Peninsula was founded in November 2020 and is run by a team of dedicated volunteers with the aim of reducing the amount of waste that ends up in landfill.

Repair cafes are free meeting places where people get together and repair broken items that are brought in by members of the community.

Each cafe is full of tools and materials to assist the repairers.

Items that can be repaired include clothing, furniture, electrical appliances, bicycles, crockery, appliances, toys and more.

The Repair Café Redcliffe Peninsula operates on the first Saturday of every month at the Redcliffe Clay Target Club.

Today, there are more than 100 Repair Cafes across Australia, and more than 2200 worldwide.