On Saturday (5 October), Bramhall Repair Cafe opened its doors once more to those in the community struggling to repair their household items. 

Repair cafes are dotted across the country, and Bramhall is one of three in the Stockport borough, with one in the Heatons and another in Marple.

Set up only 18 months ago by avid sustainability advocate Lis Bolas, the monthly event gives residents the chance to hand over broken clothes and appliances – anything from a toaster to an electric drill – to its team of volunteer sewers, electricians, and DIY enthusiasts.

After witnessing the successful launch of repair cafes in Cheshire, Lis - who is heavily involved in the Sustainable Bramhall environmentalism group - decided to set one up in Bramhall.

Lis said: "The idea is to prevent waste, prevent things going to landfill because, from my point of view, the Earth hasn't got enough resources to keep producing new.

"So, we've got to really make use of what we have and to encourage people not to throw things away, not to throw their clothes away but to get them repaired."

(Image - Lis Bolas)

Statistics released last month from the Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs show that landfill is the second most used waste treatment in the UK, with 24.2% (45 million tonnes) of waste ending up in landfills in 2020 alone.

Using the Repair Cafe Standard Carbon Calculator, an online tool which calculates roughly how many kilograms of greenhouse gas emissions were saved by repairing rather than buying new, volunteer Phil Wadsworth has been able to track the cafe's total carbon dioxide emission savings.

After only 18 cafe events, it has saved the equivalent of 8763kgs of CO2 emissions by not having to manufacture or transport replacement products. 

That is the same as driving an average petrol car 25,391 miles.

Typically, Bramhall Repair Cafe meets at Bramhall Methodist Church on the first Saturday of every month from 10am until 12pm (Image - Lis Bolas)

Saturday's repairs ranged from headphones, to drill parts and even a broken calorie counter, and qualified PAT tester David Stansfield was on hand to perform safety checks on each electrical item before and after it was repaired.

Lis encourages people to stay with their items while they get fixed, as she hopes this will inspire people to begin repairing their broken belongings at home.

She said: "It's about giving people skills, as well as perhaps just being that little bit more confident to have a go and not just throw it away."

Lis hopes that Bramhall's Repair Cafe will show local representatives there is an appetite for sustainability in the community, which could then motivate them to focus on sustainability themselves.

Bramhall Repair Cafe meets at Bramhall Methodist Church on the first Saturday of every month from 10 am until 12pm, with the exception of its next event, which will be held on 9th November. 

More information about other repair cafes across Stockport and Greater Manchester can be found here.

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