Knox Repair Cafe

What is the Knox Repair Cafe?

The Knox Repair Cafe is a place where people can meet in Knox, have something fixed and have a coffee.

In 2018-19, the Knox municipality collected 28,000 tonnes of residual kerbside waste. The 2020-21 budget allocated $20,608 million for waste management in the Knox municipality. Currently, the Metropolitan region has a 71% recovery rate for waste with a forecast to increase a further 2% by 2030 (Sustainability Victoria). The amount of e-waste consumed in Victoria in 2017-18 is estimated at around 106,000 tonnes of which around 60,000 tonnes (or 57%) was recovered (Victorian Waste Flows 2019).

The Repair Café volunteers believe that we can do better than that. Repairing stands at the top of the Waste Hierarchy, and we want Knox to truly adhere to the Circular Economy movement. We have been donating our time to welcome residents from Knox and nearby suburbs, who also believe that we should be fixing our broken items before throwing them away. Each person has a reason for wanting to do that. It could be financial, ethical, environmental, or sentimental. Whatever the reason, together we are all contributing to the reduction of items being discarded.

The Repair Café concept began in the Netherlands in 2009 and has since grown to a global movement of over 1,400 repair cafes operating worldwide. The Knox Repair Café offers repair sessions where volunteer fixers show you how to fix your broken or torn things. Wherever possible, volunteer repairers take the time to explain the repair process, to share their knowledge and skills with participants. All donations are used to cover costs, purchase tools and materials. If you would like an item to be looked at, please book a time on our Facebook page.

When and Where

The Cafe runs for from 10am-12noon on the second Saturday of each month (except January) at the Knox Environment Society Nursery and on the 4th Saturday of every second month at the Rowville Men's Shed.

Join the KRC as a repairer:

If you would like to join the team of repair volunteers please contact the KRC via the email below and become a member of the Knox Environment Society.