Central Vermont Solid Waste Management District
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Calling Fixers, Tinkerers, Repairpeople ...

11/9/2017

10 Comments

 
Do you like to tinker around with tools? Do you have a repair skill? Do you want to help others in your community? If you answered yes, then we could use your help! The Central Vermont Solid Waste Management District (CVSWMD), in collaboration with the Onion River Exchange (ORE), is hosting Vermont’s first ever community Repair Café on January 20, 2018.

The CVSWMD and ORE are hosting Vermont's first Repair Café and we are looking for volunteers to help us make it happen.  We are seeking “fixperts” who can dedicate their time and experience to help us make these events successful. We would love to have a diverse group of fixperts to share their knowledge and to offer a variety of services to Repair Café participants. Examples of fixpert skills include (but are definitely not limited to): 
  • Sewers
  • Cobblers
  • Electronics repair
  • Clockmakers
  • Watchmakers
  • Bike repairs
  • Electronics repair
  • Small appliance repair
  • Carpenters
  • Welding
  • YOUR REPAIR SKILL
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Repair Cafés are free meeting places that are all about repairing things (together). By volunteering your knowledge and expertise at a Repair Café, many positive benefits can be achieved. Valuable, practical knowledge is passed on and shared. Repairing is brought back into local society in a modern way. The amount of raw materials needed to make new products is reduced if we fix something instead of purchasing yet more poorly made new things. You get an opportunity to show off your unique skill and help inspire people in the process. Above all, participating at a Repair Café is fun and helps bring members of the community together! 

And, as an added bonus, if you are member of the Onion River Exchange timebank  you can receive community time credits for the hours that you spend as a fixer at the Repair Cafe.

We live in a society that revolves around consumption. We buy something, it breaks, we throw it out and buy a new one. This is the norm, but there are serious consequences with this cycle. The average American produces 4.4 pounds of trash per day most of which is sent to a landfill. But what if we could change this? We can and the solution is simple: repair.

As the Repair Café Organisation noted, few people think about the possibility of repairing an object. Typically, it’s more convenient to throw something out. Because of this, most people no longer know how to repair things and the people who do aren’t valued as they should be. However, it is these individuals who have the power to contribute towards making our society more sustainable.

If you'd like to join CVSWMD and ORE in our efforts to bring Repair Cafes to the region, contact us! 
Repair Cafes Sound Great! Sign Me Up to Help Out
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Word from a Fixer: Repair Cafes Fix More than Just Things

11/9/2017

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by Janice Lloyd

I’ve always been that person who saw broken and rejected items as orphans who just needed a little love. Of course, my parents weren’t very fond of my “orphans.” First it was a broken Mickey Mouse record player (it might decide work one day!), then an old portable a.m. radio, followed by piles of stuffed animals whose eyes had popped off or arm got torn off by the neighbor’s dog, and, then, many more years of collected gems.
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Over the years I’ve learned what I’m capable of fixing, mending, or repairing—and leave the rest for roadside free piles.  Now, I’m a self-proclaimed DIY fixer.  I do sewing repairs on garments that still have life left in them; I fix rusted and dull tools by sharpening and adding a little oil; I repair books passed down from Gramma to Mom to sis. 

We hold onto these broken or tired items because they hold the memory of years of use and others who also cherished them; the attachment to the items maintains our connection to the past.  We keep them in hopes of preserving their posterity, as we know some things can’t be replaced, or are no longer being made the same way or quality. I love repairing MOST because it keeps things out of the landfill -- knowing that things don’t just “go away,” and can be harmful and even toxic to the soils we put them in. 

I also appreciate that in this age of the internet, there are still opportunities (like the Repair Café) to come together, IN REAL TIME, and learn from each other. There are folks out there with knowledge to share—as they grow older and are no longer with us, we lose the value of learning generational skills.  We can’t learn that from the internet or from You Tube, or the Instructables.  And even if we CAN, there’s so much more that can be gained from these tangible experiences passed on from an actual real live human.

What’s YOUR repair skill? What have you held onto all these years in hope of fixing? Would you be willing to share your ability to repair things with others? Are you excited about repairing something you’ve hung on to through the years? Send us a photo of your beloved broken (or fixed) item, and tell us its story, or share with us at Facebook or on Instagram (@vtzerowaste)!
​
And if you'd like to contribute your skill to a Repair Cafe, please join us!
 
Jan Lloyd is the brand new CVSWMD Zero Waste Events Coordinator.  


I'll Help at a Repair Cafe!
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Central VT is Ready for Repair Cafes!

11/9/2017

2 Comments

 
I'll Help at a Repair Cafe!
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Cara is a member of ECO AmeriCorps currently serving at the CVSWMD as the Community Zero Waste Assistant. She graduated from the University of Vermont in May of 2017 with a B.A. in Environmental Studies. In her free time she likes to bake, snowboard, and spend time with family.
by Cara Stapleford
​As a brand-new Eco AmeriCorps service member at the Central Vermont Solid Waste Management District, my first task is to start organizing Repair Cafes throughout the district. I wasn’t totally familiar with the concept of a Repair Café, so I did some research. What I found was not only exciting, but impressive in its scope and mission.
Repair Cafés are community gatherings where people bring broken items to be repaired for free. According to the “Repair Café Organisation” based out of the Netherlands, “Very few people even think about the possibility of repairing the old product. Most people no longer know how to repair things. This type of knowledge is noticeably on the decline.” Repair Cafés want to change that.
At these gatherings skills information is shared, acknowledged and given new value. Not only that, but the very existence of these events promotes reuse and waste reduction.
As great as it sounded, the task at hand seemed somewhat daunting. How was I going to put this kind of event together? Would people even be interested in something like this? I continued my research and started to make some phone calls. The first call I made was to the Onion River Exchange (ORE).  I connected with Eric Bachman, an ORE board member and my very first cold-call to the general public about Repair Cafes. It turned out that Eric has wanted to organize a Repair Café in Vermont for years. I could not believe that the very first person I contacted was just as excited as I was!
After talking to Eric for the first time, I realized not only the need for an event like this in our community, but the desire that already exists. In a time and culture where we are so used to throwing things away, I was thrilled to find that other people also encourage repair.
The ORE is a unique organization in that they operate as a timebank, exchanging skills and talents, using time instead of money, to increase the sustainability and well-being of communities. Here at the CVSWMD our main goal is waste reduction. It seemed clear that our two organizations shared some common goals, particularly around repair and reuse. Because of this, and Eric’s enthusiasm, it became a no-brainer to collaborate. We quickly started a partnership between CVSWMD and ORE in order to work together to bring Repair Cafés to central Vermont.
What seemed like an overwhelming feat was suddenly put in perspective. Our community is ripe for an opportunity like this. The community already engages in other projects for the benefit of all. Organizations like the CVSWMD and ORE have been laying the groundwork for years for an event like this to occur. The timing is right, and the people are ready.
Our first Repair Café will take place on January 20th at the Unitarian Universalist First Church in Barre. If you would like to get involved, either by providing a skill or bringing an item, please contact us at caras@cvswmd.org.​
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Recharge your home before the end of Daylight Saving Time with five tips from Call2Recycle®

11/3/2017

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 This fall, Call2Recycle, Inc., the appointed battery stewardship organization in Vermont is reminding Vermonters to recharge their homes in conjunction with Daylight Saving Time.
Are you ready to ‘fall back?’ Here are five simple ways to recharge your home before the end of Daylight Saving Time:
  1. Turn back your clocks: Despite being the simplest and most obvious reminder on the list, it’s one of the most important! On November 5, don’t forget to turn your clocks back one hour at 2 a.m. Although many digital clocks and smartphones automatically adjust, don’t forget to change the clocks on your appliances (stoves, microwaves, etc.), coffee machines, watches and of course the good, old-fashioned battery-powered clocks.
  2. Put safety first: Take time to test and replace the batteries in all smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. This is a crucial component of household safety and one that often is forgotten... It’s incredibly important to have smoke and carbon monoxide detectors that work properly so you can keep your family and house safe.
  3. Prep for winter: Winter is on the horizon and Daylight Saving Time is the perfect seasonal reminder to get your home winter ready. Capitalize on your extra hour by updating your families’ emergency kit with new batteries, a flashlight, candles, matches and a lighter for that inevitable winter storm!
  4. Say goodbye to summer: According to study commissioned by Call2Recycle, battery “hoarding” typically lasts at least several months – almost the same length of time Canadians spend trying to hang onto summer. Make sure you’ve removed the batteries in staple summer items – such as patio lights, outdoor speakers, etc. – so they can be properly stored for winter.
  5. Recycle your batteries: While you’re replacing the batteries in various household items, don’t forget to recycle them! Properly disposing of used batteries has a positive impact on the environment by keeping them out of landfills. Call2Recycle collects batteries for recycling and­­ materials are extracted and used to make new products, including silverware, golf clubs, new batteries and much more.
“So far, this year, Call2Recycle has collected and recycled over sixty thousand pounds of batteries across Vermont and we encourage Vermonters to use occurrences like Daylight Saving Time to keep up the great work,” said Todd Ellis, Call2Recycle, Inc. “The end of Daylight Saving Time is the perfect opportunity to remind Vermonters how simple it is to responsibly recycle their batteries.”  
 
Taking the time to turn in your batteries is as simple and convenient as turning back the clock. With 140 collection sites across the state, ninety-eight per cent of Vermonters live within 10 miles of one. To find a collection site, Vermonters can visit the Call2Recycle locator, plug in their postal code and find their nearest recycling location within seconds.
 
About Call2Recycle, Inc.
Call2Recycle, Inc. is committed to protecting and preserving the environment through collecting and recycling consumer batteries and cellphones. Founded in 1994, the not-for-profit organization works on behalf of stakeholders to provide its battery-recycling program to consumers across the U.S. and Canada through almost 30,000 convenient drop-off locations.
Follow Call2Recycle Vermont on Twitter: @Call2Recycle_VT
Follow Call2Recycle Vermont on Facebook: Call2RecycleVT
 
For more information, please contact:
 
Tara Pereira
Marketing Partners
news@marketing-partners.com
 802-864-6710
 
Linda Gabor
VP of Marketing & Customer Service, Call2Recycle®
lgabor@call2recycle.org
(678) 218-1082

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    Author

    Cassandra Hemenway, CVSWMD Outreach Manager,  Theron Lay-Sleeper, Outreach Coordinator and Dora Chi, CVSWMD's Eco AmeriCorps service member all contribute to this blog.

    ​We also welcome guest bloggers; Email us if you'd like to contribute.

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Office  | 137 Barre St, Montpelier VT 05602-3618| 802-229-9383 | comments@cvswmd.org
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