Repairing Is Recycling

Recycling isn’t just about melting down metal, or turning paper into pulp to create more paper. Repurposing or repairing are two other options that can make an otherwise discarded item useful again. Here’s an example of a group that was able to think outside the box — I mean recycling bin.

Keep Prince William Beautiful, Inc. is a non-profit environmental organization that serves Prince William County by partnering with residents, businesses and government to educate and inspire people to be environmental stewards.

They wanted to offer an alternative way for people to avoid adding items to the landfill or the process of recycling by encouraging community members to repair small household items that could still be usable. Items such as jewelry, clothing, small appliances, electronics, eyeglasses, bicycles, and small furniture that could use a little attention would be put back into service, rather than being thrown away.

Keep Prince William Beautiful applied for one of our Green Grants for $750 in the Recycling category. Their proposal stated they would offer a stipend of $75 to each of ten professional “fixers” to help them accomplish their Fixit Fair.

The Fixit Fair was held last weekend, and it was a success! While they were originally going to host the event in a library’s Community Center, they needed to make adjustments due to the COVID guidelines. They decided it would be more safety conscious to host the event outside under a canopied structure at the County Government Complex. Also, instead of having a “first come, first served” service, they required registration and for attendees to drop off their items for repair.

Forty-three community members brought various broken items to see if they could be repaired rather than thrown out. In each case, the fixers were able to determine the problem for each of the broken items. They successfully repaired several pieces of wooden and metal furniture, bicycles, jewelry, clothing, televisions, computers, and even a beloved stuffed octopus who was in need of repair!

They plan to host another Fixit Fair in the future, and are certain that the need and the response will continue to grow!

Do you think a Fixit Fair would be successful in your community?