Why Repair Cafés Matter

Repair Cafés are part of a growing movement to rethink our relationship with the things we own and the world we live in. Repair Cafés offer something deceptively radical: a space to slow down, to learn together, and to build a culture where value isn’t thrown away at the first sign of trouble.  

Repairing a broken object might seem small but multiplied across thousands of communities, it’s a quiet revolution. It teaches us that sustainability isn’t just about technology it’s about relationships: with our things, with our planet, and with each other. 

These community groups teamed with volunteers are helping to close waste feedback loop. This is a concept from circular economy thinking. It aims to keep resources in use for as long as possible, extracting maximum value, then recovering and regenerating products and materials at the end of their service life. 

Repair Cafés support this loop by:
1. Extending product lifespans – Preventing waste by fixing items rather than replacing them.
2. Reducing resource extraction – Lower demand for raw materials to make new products.
3. Minimizing landfill use – Items are kept out of the waste stream.
4. Encouraging behavioural change – Fostering a culture of maintenance and repair over consumption and disposal.

So in this loop Waste becomes input again (e.g., a broken toaster is repaired rather than put in the bin). Products circulate longer, decreasing use of energy and virgin materials (raw materials that are extracted to make a new product). 

Local Repair Café: 

Dorking Repair Café – You can find them at Dorking Christian Centre on the first Saturday of every month, 10:30am to 1pm. Read more about Dorking Repair Café here. 

Fetcham and Bookham Repair Café – Pop in to St Mary’s Church Hall off the Ridgeway in Fetcham on the first Saturday of every month from 10am to 12:30pm. Read more about Fetcham and Bookham Repair Café here.