Kelowna resident Tina Kennedy brought in her leaky coffee maker in hopes of a repair Saturday.
Sponsored by the Regional District’s Waste Reduction Office, volunteers at Repair Cafe fix household items, from clocks to electronics to bicycles.
Kennedy saw the event in the paper and thought it was “a fantastic idea.”
“As an owner, I would’ve never been able to take the screws off,” she said.
Kennedy had a message for those who throw their appliances in the landfill.
“We as a society have allowed this, we talk about saving the earth, but these manufactured products last eight years tops.”
She had an eight-year-old fridge currently sitting in the landfill because Kennedy and her husband were unable to repair it or find the part.
Volunteer Dieter Sander was able to diagnose the problem with the coffee maker. One of the hoses had a leak in the bottom of the maker.
Most items he said, are easy fixes.
“Most things you can reason your way through.”
Waste Reduction Facilitator Rae Stewart said the most unusual item she saw during the weekend was a duck-like lamp from the 40s in need of repair.
The Repair Cafe’s original idea came from the Netherlands, and in Kelowna the cafes seem to be popular.
More than 100 people had their items fixed at Okanagan College.
“There’s a lot of electrical, that’s predominantly what comes through the door. There’s a lot of success stories that go on out again.”