Monmouthshire County Council is encouraging residents to visit community-run Repair Cafes to repair broken household items instead of replacing them.  

On International Repair Day, Saturday, 18 October, Abergavenny’s monthly Repair Café will be open between 11am and 2pm, offering repairs for everything from toys and bikes to clothes, furniture and woodwork.  

Despite its name, International Repair Day is much more than a day, it’s the highlight of a whole month that celebrates how something as simple as repairing things can bring communities together, reduce our impact on the planet, teach new skills and so much more.  

Cllr Catrin Maby, Cabinet Member for Climate Change and the Environment, said: “Our repair cafes are a real testament to community and have grown as a way to give more sustainable choices to our modern-day throw away society.  

“The Repair Cafes depend on the community. Whether you’re a fixer, community organiser, tinkerer, maker, or repair business, the Repair Cafés needs your expertise and skills.  

“If you have a broken item or something that’s seen better days, why not pop into your local Repair Café and see if they can give it a new lease of life for free. Repairing instead of replacing saves you money, and is one of many ways we can each help take important steps towards tackling the climate emergency.”  

In Monmouthshire, there are four Repair Cafes already that run monthly events to fix household items for members of the public.  You can visit them at:

• Abergavenny Repair Café: Abergavenny Community Centre, The Old School, Park Street, Abergavenny. Open 11am-2pm, Saturday 18 October.
• Chepstow Repair Café: Monmouthshire Upcycle, Station Road, Chepstow. Open 10am-1pm, Saturday 1 November.
• Goytre Repair Café: Goytre Community Centre, School Lane, Penperlleni. Open 10am-1pm, Saturday 11 October.
• Monmouth Repair Café: Rockfield Park Community Centre, Cornwallis Way, Monmouth. Open 2pm-4pm, Sunday 19 October.  

Find out more about the Repair Café projects in Monmouthshire by visiting Repair Cafe Wales – Local Community Repair Cafés