The money has been distributed among four cafés in Sandwell that help fix household items, reduce waste and save local families money.
The four establishments due to receive the money include Friends of the Bilbrook Repair Café, the Harbourne St John’s Church Repair Café, the Roliston Forestry Repair Café, and the Highley Shropshire Repair Café – all located in the West Midlands and the surrounding area.
Funding, which has come from enfinium – a leading UK energy-from-waste operator – was announced yesterday and was made available to help cover operating costs and launch outreach programmes in the local community to build awareness of how important these institutions are for the environment.
One example of this is the Highley Shropshire Repair Café plans to liaise with a local primary school to teach children the basics of repair and reuse. Knowing this skill reduces the amount of waste sent to landfill and cuts overall CO2 emissions – previously it has been discovered that maintaining a TV for an extra seven years can save the equivalent of 657kg of CO2.
This isn’t the first time money has been earmarked for repair cafés. To date, six have received funding from enfinium’s £60,000 support fund since its launch in March 2024. The fund was created to support cafés within a 30-mile radius of one of enfinium’s facilities in Kent, North Wales, West Yorkshire or the West Midlands.
Karl Smyth, enfinium’s director of external affairs and strategic policy, said: ‘To achieve a sustainable economy, it is important that the UK reduces the amount of waste it produces. This is why enfinium are committed to supporting Repair Café initiatives in the communities in which we operate, such as West Bromwich. We are thrilled to provide funding to these four Repair Cafés to support their invaluable work in the local community.’
enfinium’s Repair Café Support Fund will reopen on 1st January 2025, and run until 31st May 2025. Eligible Repair Cafés can apply for funding of up to £1,500 per annum before the May deadline.
Image: enfinium
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