News Save your pre-loved possessions at the Maidstone Repair Café
Got something that’s broken or needs mending? A family heirloom, a winter jumper or even your favourite kettle that needs a little love? Don’t just throw them away, come along to the Maidstone Repair Café at Lockmeadow Market Hall this Saturday, 7 September 2024, to upcycle your items and take part in this year’s #ZeroWasteWeek.
Maidstone Borough Council (MBC) is inviting everyone to come along with items that could be repaired, including toys, jewellery, electricals, clothing, textiles, furniture, wooden objects, bicycle maintenance, computers and IT equipment.
Booking isn’t required and people can just turn up on the day. The Maidstone Repair Café is proving to be a huge success with over 200 visitors at each event and lots of happy customers.
Cllr Mike Summersgill, MBC Cabinet Member for Climate Transition and Nature Recovery, commented, saying:
The Repair Café is a fantastic initiative, and we are very proud to have our own centre in Maidstone. Repairing your items is the best way to save them from landfill and I encourage everyone to visit this Saturday to see how the fantastic team of volunteers can bring your belongings back to life.
The project is supported by MBC and is run by an excellent and enthusiastic team of volunteers. They are always looking for more to come forward and help to reduce the volume of things which would otherwise be thrown away.
Duncan Edwards from Maidstone Climate Action Network (CAN) said:
Maidstone CAN has delivered seven Repair Café events in its first year at the Lockmeadow Market Hall. We have an amazing team of 50 volunteers who provide a welcoming and friendly environment for the people in Maidstone to bring along household items to be repaired. The stats so far are impressive, with nearly 400 items repaired, 784kg of waste saved and 7,224kg of CO2 emissions avoided. You can get in touch by emailing MaidstoneCAN@Gmail.com.
Repair Cafés are free meeting places and they’re about mending things together. Maidstone’s Café is free to enter with a voluntary contribution requested for repairs made and takes place on the first Saturday of September and November 2024, with more planned in 2025.
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