Smart Waste Reduction through Repair Cafe

Every year thousands of tonnes of electronics, furniture, household appliances and clothing pieces are thrown by urban dwellers. Many of these items were not being processed properly or recycled and ended up in the landfill. These items are also likely being tossed just because they are slightly damaged. Repair Cafes is an initiative to prevent these household items from ending up in the landfill when they are repairable and can be upcycled into a new item. 

Repair Cafes are workshops established by local municipalities or communities to extend the life of electronics and other household items by providing service to fix and restore various broken items. It is also a way to prevent people from resorting to overly consuming or buying new materials or goods that could further deteriorate our environmental condition. Today, there are 1500 Repair Cafes around the globe that promote a sustainable lifestyle of limiting consumptions of goods and facilitate people to learn new skills from repairing and revamping old or worn-out household stuff.

Reference:

World Economic Forum. (2020). Smart at Scale: Cities to Watch 25 Case Studies Community Paper.