Fairfield Gonzales Community Place will be the scene of a few triumphant resurrections and the odd tearful farewell Saturday, with the return of the Repair Café Fairfield, which is devoted to breathing new life into dated and dying gizmos and gadgets.
A small army of volunteer fixers will spend three hours Saturday offering their fix-it skills and advice on how to add a few more years to the lives of beloved appliances and other items, while doing their part for the environment.
“It’s basically to keep stuff out of the landfill, stuff that still has useful life,” said Brad Woodruff, one of the event organizers. “It’s also to stop the tendency of manufacturers to build in obsolescence.”
The tinkerers ready to be hunched over blenders, toasters and panini presses armed only with screwdrivers and soldering irons on Saturday are part of a global movement to reduce the amount of waste heading to landfills.
Repair Café Fairfield, which has been around for years, is one of several in the region — similar repair cafes have been held in North Saanich, Metchosin and the University of Victoria over the years.
A movement that started in the Netherlands in 2009, it’s grown into a network of thousands of events around the world, with more than 48,000 volunteer fixers who divert nearly 58,000 items from heading to the landfill every month.
Woodruff, who has been volunteering to fix things since 2017, said events like this are essential in a world that has gotten used to throwing things away.
Jeffrey Brooks, another fixer and the man who helps co-ordinate the volunteers, estimates they will be able to repair about two-thirds of the items they see on Saturday.
Brooks, who has also been volunteering since around 2017, said in many cases, people just can’t bring themselves to part with “stuff that’s been in the family a long time, they just don’t want to kiss it goodbye.”
Both men see the event as taking a stand against filling the landfill and as a message to manufacturers that people no longer want stuff that can’t easily be repaired.
Brooks said the toaster is the perfect example of a mechanical appliance that used to be simple to repair, but now comes with relays, computer chips, thin wires and an electromagnet that requires energizing.
He said when people can just replace them for a few dollars, they don’t bother even trying to fix them. “It’s just horrible,” he said.
And given that Hartland Landfill, the only solid-waste disposal facility in the region, still gets 180,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste each year, the need for diversion is becoming ever more important.
Woodruff said organizations like the international Repair Café group and its local chapters are not going to convince the multi-national manufacturers to change their practices, but governments that see the value of the circular economy and reducing waste can.
Woodruff said the European Union has passed “right to repair” legislation and other countries are following suit. “There’s actually progress — it’s a good start,” he said.
Right to repair legislation means people should be able to more easily fix items when a component breaks down, rather than being forced to purchase a new product.
According to the Canadian government, which is currently studying the legislation, making producers financially accountable will give them an incentive to design products that can be reused and recycled.
In 2021, the Union of B.C. Municipalities passed a resolution asking the province to draft right to repair legislation.
In Fairfield on Saturday, there will be at least 10 volunteer fixers with expertise in everything from textile repair to computers.
Brooks said they likely will have someone there to handle almost anything.
All volunteer fixers bring their own tools, but the group has a collection of extra parts and components they can draw from.
There is no cost to have items fixed, but donations are accepted to cover the cost of some supplies and specialized tools.
“Most of our fixers are generalists,” said Woodruff, noting about half are retired but all like fixing things in their spare time.
Brooks said they see a lot of small appliances, lamps, clothing, bicycles, wheelchairs and some furniture repair. But they will also see large items like lawnmowers and snowblowers.
“And sharpening seems to be a big deal,” said Brooks. “Everybody seems to have knives that just couldn’t cut wet noodles.”
The Repair Café Fairfield runs 2-5 p.m. on Saturday at Fairfield Gonzales Community Place, 1330 Fairfield Rd.
The federal government is currently gathering feedback from Canadians on right to repair legislation. Input can be provided at: https://ised-isde.survey-sondage.ca/f/s/RTR
