All good Wellesley dump regulars know about the three R’s (reduce, reuse, recycle). The Rotary Club of Wellesley wants to add REPAIR to the three Rs by announcing its second Repair Café Event. It will be held on Saturday April 7, 9am – to noon at the Wellesley Recreation Department, in the Warren Building, 90 Washington St.

The Repair Café is free an all about repairing things (together). At the Repair Café event, you’ll find tools and materials to help you make most repairs. Repairs can be made on clothing, furniture, electrical appliances, bicycles, crockery, appliances, toys, and more. Expert volunteers will be on hand, lending their repair skills.

Wellesley Repair Cafe — Last year’s Repair Cafe, organized by the Rotary Club of Wellesley, was a big hit.

First, visitors bring their broken items from home. Next, they can join forces with the specialists and start making their repairs in the Repair Café. The immediacy of the ongoing learning process will gratify even the most impatient use-and-discard types.

If you have nothing to repair but plenty to say, just come and enjoy a cup of tea or coffee, or lend a hand with someone else’s repair job. You can also get inspired at the reading table by leafing through books on repairs and DIY.

Please register as a guest in advance to attend the Café. List the item you want to repair. If you have questions, contact John Adams at [email protected] or 617-817- 0314. If we can talk before the event, then we can make sure to have the necessary parts for repair available. If you have repair skills and want to help out, please register as a volunteer.

The EPA says that within just one year, half to three quarters of annual resource inputs to industrial economies are returned to the environment as waste. WasteWise Wellesley aims to reverse these trends, and the Repair Cafe is one way to do it. Come help Wellesley reduce its purchasing and waste disposal costs and decrease its contributions to climate change.

Another way to help: Sign up for the RDF’s food waste program

The town of Wellesley is inviting an additional 125 households to participate in its food waste drop-off program at the Recycling & Disposal Facility.

Here we have a lovely Wellesley kitchen still life. Note the artist’s use of the paper towels, signifying that this is a working kitchen. The centrality of the thin, flat-screen TV is nicely balanced by the food waste recycling bin’s strong and boxy presence. This is obviously a corner where many Lifetime movies are watched as food is lovingly prepared for a family that is, like yours, incredibly grateful. Yes, this is my kitchen. Yes, I really do stir spaghetti sauce and watch Lifetime movies here.

After signing up, you will be given a free starter kit (paid for by Department of Environmental Protection grants) including a counter top bucket, compostable bag liners, and a container for transporting your food waste to the RDF. When you pick up your kit, you will be provided with a brief tutorial on how to use the starter kit and what items to include or not include. This educational flyer includes frequently asked questions and a detail of acceptable and non-acceptable items. If you would like to participate in the pilot complete this sign up form, and click the ‘Submit’ button. Mr. and Mrs. Swellesley jumped right onto this bandwagon earlier this winter, and it’s been easy as anything. The things I thought would happen didn’t (messiness, undue smells), and things I hoped would happen did (a feeling that we as a family are helping take the next logical step toward responsibly managing the stuff we toss).

Here’s more about the food waste program from our interview with RDF Superintendent Jeff Azano-Brown.