Dutch Repair Cafés rescue 75% of broken items from waste, fostering community and sustainability
Repair Cafés in Bunnik and Odijk are saving three-quarters of broken items from landfills, reducing waste and fostering community spirit. Volunteers recently upgraded their skills to tackle modern electronics, ensuring more items get a second life.
| Detail | Repair Café Bunnik | Repair Café Odijk |
|---|---|---|
| Years Active | Nearly 5 years | 1 year |
| Total Repairs | Over 1,100 | Around 120 |
| Success Rate | 75% of items saved | 75% of items saved |
| Volunteers | 21 repairers + 4 hostesses | 12 repairers + 3 others |
| Special Collaborations | - | Snuffelhonk thrift store |
| Future Plans | - | Children’s version in progress |
| Locations | Bunnik | Odijk |
Repair Cafés are community-driven initiatives supported by local governments and environmental programs to promote circular economy practices. They align with national sustainability goals by reducing waste and encouraging repair over replacement, often receiving grants or logistical support from municipalities.
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Repair Cafés save three-quarters of items
The volunteers at Repair Café would love to repair even more items than they already do. That’s why, last Friday during the Week of the Circular Economy, ten repairers attended a soldering training session.
“With the increasingly smaller components in modern electronics, it’s important to be able to hand-solder,” explains Lin Vliegenthart from Repair Café Bunnik. During the training led by an electronics instructor, the volunteers learned the finer points of hand-soldering using different tools and solder alloys.
Over 1,100 repairs
Repair Café Bunnik has been around for nearly five years. “We’ve already carried out over 1,100 repairs, saving 75 percent of the items from the waste pile,” says Lin. The team consists of four hostesses and a group of 21 skilled repairers with expertise in various fields, including electronics and clothing. “At a time when volunteers are not a given, handy neighbors continue to sign up as volunteers at Repair Café, and there’s hardly any turnover,” Lin notes. “Repair Café is more than just a place for repairs—it has become a true community hub in Bunnik. There’s always time for a good conversation.”
Repair Café Odijk
In Odijk, Repair Café launched last year during the Week of the Circular Economy. The volunteers have since completed around 120 repairs, also managing to fully or partially repair about 75 percent of the items. The volunteer team now consists of fifteen members, twelve of whom are repairers. “We also repair items for the Snuffelhonk thrift store,” says Jan Maarten de Klein from Repair Café Odijk. “We’re incredibly proud of how far we’ve come in our first year. It’s always a surprise what we’re given to fix, and we learn from every repair. We contribute to the realization that things can be repaired—and we actually do it. It’s a wonderful and social event.”
Repair Café Odijk dreams of expanding with a children’s version. How that will take shape isn’t entirely clear yet. “But we’ll definitely do something about it.”
Where and when
- The Repair Café in Bunnik
- The Repair Café Odijk
- On the website Heel Nederland Repareert