COQUITLAM, B.C., January 8, 2024 – Coquitlam residents are invited to bring small household items that need to be repaired to the City’s Repair Café on Saturday, January 27.
The café will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Mundy Park Field House (629 Hillcrest Street). Visit coquitlam.ca/RepairCafe to find a list of items you can bring and learn about volunteer opportunities.
What are Repair Cafés?
Repair Cafés are volunteer-run events where residents can bring broken items to be repaired for free. Some examples include clothing, furniture, electrical appliances and gadgets, bicycles and toys. Volunteers with skills in repairing a variety of items will provide a learning environment for participants who bring items to be repaired.
If you would like to participate as a volunteer in the upcoming event, the City is looking for people who are handy and like tinkering and fixing things, or who simply want to help out in the community. Volunteers with electrical repair skills are specifically needed for the January event. Details can be found at coquitlam.ca/RepairCafe.
Seeking a Host Organization
Coquitlam is seeking a local organization interested in running Repair Café events in the future, with support from the City. Coquitlam will provide event space, funding for tools, supplies, food, volunteer appreciation, advertisement and assistance with volunteer recruitment.
An interested organization would plan and run the events, coordinate the volunteers, obtain supplies and report back repair statistics from each event. Repair Cafés help build community by encouraging shared knowledge and team work, and reduce waste at the same time, a win-win!
Coquitlam held their inaugural Repair Café event on October 15 with over 100 participants and 12 volunteers. Visit coquitlam.ca/RepairCafe for more information.
Repair Cafés' Role in the Circular Economy
A circular economy is based on the idea that there is no such thing as waste. In our present economy, materials are taken from the earth, and products created from those resources are disposed of as trash when they are finished — the process is linear. In the circular economy, the goal is to design products with their end of life in mind, recovering and reusing its materials to prevent waste.
The circular economy has an important role to play in addressing climate change by reducing emissions associated with how we make and use products and produce and dispose of food. To learn more about how Coquitlam is taking climate action visit letstalkcoquitlam.ca/ClimatePlan.
Residents can support companies that offer take-back of products after use, as well as participate in City programs, like the Repair Café, which contribute to recovery or the reuse of materials.
Other City Tools to Support Circular Economy
The City of Coquitlam offers a number of programs and tools to help local residents and businesses reduce their waste, as well as water and energy consumption.
- Composting – Turn yard trimmings and food scraps into rich soil for your garden; the City offers composting tips and backyard composters at a subsidized price of $28 for Coquitlam residents (coquitlam.ca/WasteReduction).
- Curbside Collection app – Residents who receive City waste collection can download the free Coquitlam Curbside Collection app to receive helpful waste-reduction tips, waste-sorting information and reminders for collection days, as well as notifications for special programs such as the free Seasonal Unlimited Yard Trimmings collection (coquitlam.ca/recollect).
- Recycling – In addition to the curbside recycling offered by Recycle BC, the City has a recycling depot available to Coquitlam residents free of charge in Town Centre Park; residents can also use the United Boulevard Recycling & Waste Centre (coquitlam.ca/recycling).
- Waste Wizard – Use this online search tool to find find local disposal options for various items (coquitlam.ca/WasteWizard).
Coquitlam Community Results
Waste-diversion successes in Coquitlam include:
- Coquitlam residents diverted over 15,000 tonnes of green waste material from the landfill in 2023.
- The material from Green Cart collection is made into compost and the City makes around 1,000 bags available to residents each year through its free compost giveaway event.
- For over 10 years, Coquitlam has been organizing the City-Wide Garage Sale and Giveaway Event where thousands of participants have prevented tonnes of useful items from going to waste.
- From 2013 – 2022, over 20,000 mattresses and box springs have been collected and recycled through the Large Item Pick-Up Program.
- Between 100 and 150 residents bring recyclables to the Town Centre Recycling Depot each day.
Media contact:
Jenny Tough
Environmental Education Enforcement Manager
epw@coquitlam.ca
604-927-3500
We acknowledge with gratitude and respect that the name Coquitlam was derived from the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ (HUN-kuh-MEE-num) word kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (kwee-KWET-lum) meaning “Red Fish Up the River”. The City is honoured to be located on the kʷikʷəƛ̓əm traditional and ancestral lands, including those parts that were historically shared with the q̓ic̓əy̓ (kat-zee), and other Coast Salish Peoples.