Repair Cafes are returning for 2024, starting on Saturday, Jan. 27.
In partnership with Mountain Equipment Company (MEC), Langley Environmental Partners Society (LEPS) is hosting its first Repair Cafe of the new year at the Langley store location with a focus on outdoor gear.
This includes items like camp stoves, tents, some outdoorsy-type textiles, and basic bike repairs explained Nichole Marples, executive director at LEPS.
“We currently have about five or six general repair volunteers who will try their best to repair the items that are brought in,” she said.
Marples noted that if people have the parts to repair the item, they are asked to bring the part or parts with them.
“Also, our expert repair people might be able to give advice on what is required, and suggest that the parts are obtained and the items brought back to a future repair events,” she said.
She adds that the cafes inspire sustainability at the local level as well.
“Repair Cafes encourage the reduction of waste sent to landfill, facilitate the repurposing and repair of common household goods, and build a community of volunteers dedicated to supporting this cause. While specialists volunteers repair broken belongings, participants pick up on hands-on skills.”
Marples estimated, using a carbon calculator developed in the U.K., that the CO2 emissions saved from last year’s Repair Cafes is about 4,752 kg – the equivalent carbon emissions of driving 31,762 km.
“The repair movement radically reduces greenhouse gas emissions by reducing levels of consumption and extending the life of commonly used everyday objects, such as electronics, bicycles, clothing, and household items,” she said.
Those who utilize the Repair Cafe will also receive a 15 per cent discount at MEC for that day.
The cafe will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Langley MEC location at 6121 200 St., near the Willowbrook Shopping Centre.
The second Repair Cafe of the year is scheduled for March 16 at the Aldergrove library.
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