CARDIFF Repair Week, a city-wide initiative encouraging residents to repair their items instead of throwing them away, began yesterdays and run till March 9.
Getting involved not only helps reduce carbon impact but can also save you money.
Recent data from Censuswide reveals that Cardiff residents could have wasted up to £132 million in 2024 alone by replacing items that could have been repaired. On average, each person spent £444 on replacements for items that might have been fixable.
Key Findings:
- 50% of Cardiff residents worry about the cost of replacing broken items.
- 53% would prefer to repair items themselves if they knew how.
- 56% are interested in learning repair skills to save money.
- The most commonly discarded items without checking for repair options are:
- Washing machines (20%)
- Headphones (19%)
- Sofa/chair/bench (19%)
Join the Growing Repair Culture:
- 45% of residents enjoy repairing items with others and want to learn more.
- 45% would attend more repair events if available locally.
- 54% report a sense of achievement from repairing things.
Special Event: Repair Café at St Davids Shopping Centre:
Join the Repair Café at St Davids Shopping Centre on Saturday, March 8th at St Davids Shopping Centre from 9.30am until 1pm, outside H. Samual, for a special Repair Café event focusing on textiles. Staff from Repair Café Wales and Cardiff Council will demonstrate how to repair clothes.
Cardiff Market offers several stalls providing repair services, including:
- Yans & Sons Heel Bar: Shoe repairs with a 5% discount if the customer references Repair Week.
- Carlines Jewellery: Jewellery repairs with a 5% discount if the customer references Repair Week.
- On Time: Watch repairs.
- Sew Elegant: Clothing repairs.
- Gold Reserves: Jewellery repairs.
Other shops across the city also offer repair services. For a full list of retailers, visit the Keep Cardiff Tidy website.
Cllr Norma Mackie, Cabinet Member for Waste, Street Scene & Environmental Services, said: “In today’s world, we’ve become a bit too quick to throw things out without realising that a simple fix could save us a lot of money!
“Before you throw away that broken item, why not see if it can be repaired? Not only will your wallet thank you, but the planet will too! Repairing is even better than recycling, so let’s give our items a second chance before saying goodbye. Let’s fix it, not ditch it.”
Embrace the repair culture and join Cardiff Repair Week to learn new skills, save money, and help the environment. Let’s make Cardiff a city that values fixing over throwing away!
Feel free to share this exciting initiative with your friends and family. Together, everyone can make a difference!
