‘Repair Café’ In Illinois Helps to Recycle, Upcycle and Reduce Waste Worldwide

Recycling, upcycling and everything in between: These are the orders at the Repair Cafe in Evanston, Illinois.

The goal is to create hubs where people can bring their broken items so they can get fixed.

Bea Echeverria, an Evanston Repair Cafe Coordinator, got the idea from the Netherlands. Europe has about 2,000 of these types of repair cafes, and North America has less than 200.

Instead of tossing what they think is trash, people take items to a repair cafe to not only save cash, but cause a ripple effect. 

“We see a lot of lamps, coffee machines, stereos, a lot of electronics,” said Liam Ouweleen, a Repair Cafe volunteer.

From jewelry to wheels, volunteers like Liam fix for fun and for free.

“This is something that empowers people,” Liam told CBS News. “It's fun, it builds community, it takes stuff away from landfills. it's a win win win.”

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