Repair Labs a success thanks to volunteers

The City of Canning will mark a year of delivering Repair Labs to Canning residents with its sixth event to be held on Sunday 21 April at the Canning River Eco Education Centre (CREEC) in Wilson.

The Canning Repair Lab is a free community initiative run by the City of Canning, with support from local skilled volunteers, helping people to fix their belongings and save items going to landfill.

Over the past year skilled volunteers have repaired a total of 168 items, which was a mix of textiles, household items, furniture, extra low voltage battery-powered items and bikes.

The Repair Labs have been extremely well received by the Canning community with 97% of participants giving the event a five-star review.

Deputy Mayor Amanda Spencer-Teo said these events are a great way to connect with the community, learn from our handy repairers and reduce waste by avoiding throwing away items that can be repaired and re-used.

“Over the past year we have been lucky enough to have had nine very talented repairers, as well as five dedicated assistant volunteers, helping at our Repair Labs.

“I would like to say a huge thank you to this amazing group of volunteers, who have helped make these events such a fantastic success,” Deputy Mayor Spencer-Teo said.

The volunteers at the Canning Repair Lab are a vital part of the events success, assistant volunteer Warren Claydon said he really enjoys being a part of the team.

“It is very gratifying to see the smile on attendee’s faces as they leave. Just as important is the fact that we are all aware we have all saved an item from landfill, and it's all free of charge,” said Warren.

Peter Lewi one of the repairer volunteers at the Repair Lab, enjoys using the skills he has gained over the years in a beneficial and meaningful way.

“For me volunteering at community repair labs provides such purpose and meaning, helping with my own personal well-being and is a useful service to the community and the environment," said Peter.

From 9.30am – 12pm, residents are encouraged to come along and bring items such as clothing, textiles, bikes, furniture and general household items to be fixed.

For safety reasons high voltage electrical items cannot be repaired, only extra-low voltage battery-powered items will be repaired if they are deemed safe to do so.

The Repair Labs are organised every second month on the third Sunday of the month with upcoming events to be held on Sunday 21 April, 16 June and 18 August.

For more information visit the Repair Lab page.