SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — The Fixit Clinic is finding new purposes for older things, showing it's better to repair something than to toss it out. CBS 8 got a look inside the program that will try to fix your broken items for free so they don't end up in the landfill.
“Every time someone repairs something, we get people to ring the bell and we hoot and holler," said Laura Anthony, president of Zero Waste San Diego, the nonprofit that organizes the events.
Their motto is, “Don’t toss it. Fix it,” and they're finding ways to give new life to some of your older belongings.
“The most common things we get are lamps, we get vacuums, we get toasters, we get food processors, we get a lot of clothes,” said Anthony.
Fixit Clinics are pop-up events around the County organized by Anthony and her team of fixers. They’ll try to fix just about anything for free, but they just have one caveat.
“They have to be able to carry it in. I don’t want anything heavy like your car or your couch," said Anthony. "People bring in their things and we say, ‘Let’s try.’ We can always try, the idea always is to try to figure it out.”
With a 67% repair rate, they’re scoring high while keeping people’s costs low.
“Like a skateboard, like a bike, like clothing that you have sentimental value, like a jacket that you’ve worn for a long time, and you really want to fix it and make sure it doesn’t go into the trash. It’s better to have it come back to life and avoid going to the landfill,” said Manuel Medrano, Environmental Services Manager for the City of Chula Vista.
“When we have stuff going to the landfill, trash and stuff we consider trash, it creates methane," said Medrano. "Also, the resources that it takes to create a new item so you want to avoid all of that additional mining for materials because it’s really detrimental to the environment, creating greenhouse gases.”
The fixers provide the service. All they ask is that you provide the parts, and they’ll even teach you how to make the repair yourself.
“Like a lamp, many times it will just need a little hardware, so we’ll ask you to go to the store, buy that hardware, we’ll put it together because we want to be a shared experience," said Anthony.
She recruits people in the community who like to fix things, such as retired civil engineers, with the notion of neighbors helping neighbors.
“If you’re a fixer and you like to tinker with things and even though you’re not a professional, we’re always looking for people that can help," said Anthony. "It could be sewing, it could be jewelry, if you have a skill that you want to share, we’re always looking for talent.”
- Fixit Clinics are held regularly in the cities of Chula Vista, La Mesa, and Carlsbad, as well as unincorporated areas of the County.
- The next event is in La Mesa on April 20, 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the La Mesa Community Garden.
- To find the next event near you, head to the Fixit Clinic website.
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