REGINA — Instead of throwing broken items into the garbage, hundreds of Regina residents are being invited to give them a second chance this weekend at one of the city’s largest-ever Repair Café events.
The EnviroCollective Repair Café returns Saturday, May 16, at the George Bothwell Library, transforming the community space into a bustling pop-up repair hub packed with volunteer technicians, sewers, electronics experts, bicycle mechanics and general fix-it specialists.
Running from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the free event invites residents to bring damaged or broken household items to be repaired instead of discarded, all while learning practical repair skills and reducing waste.
“We’re hosting one of our largest repair cafés this Saturday,” explained Rob Deglau, chair of EnviroCollective Network.
“We’ll have 30-some repair techs, and we open up to the community to have anything they want repaired for free,” Deglau said.
The event is part of a growing international Repair Café movement focused on sustainability, community engagement and extending the life of everyday products. Originating in the Netherlands in 2009, Repair Cafés have expanded worldwide as communities look for ways to reduce landfill waste and challenge throwaway consumer culture.
In Regina, the movement has grown rapidly.
“This will be our fifth year,” Deglau said. “The first three years were once a year, but it has gained such momentum that we now go hard once a month.”
This weekend’s event will include repairs for clothing, electronics, computers, small appliances and bicycles, with support from partners including Bike Regina.
“If you need a bicycle tuned up, we’ve got a whole pile of techs waiting to do that,” Deglau expressed.
According to EnviroCollective, Repair Cafés do more than fix objects. They help build community connections while encouraging people to rethink waste and sustainability in practical, accessible ways.
By teaching residents how to repair and maintain items themselves, organizers hope to reduce unnecessary disposal while giving people confidence to embrace more sustainable habits.
“The whole thing there is about teaching people it’s easier to recycle and reuse than to throw away,” Deglau said.
The events also arrive amid growing conversations around “right to repair” legislation across North America. Advocates argue many modern products are intentionally designed to be difficult or impossible for consumers to repair independently, forcing people to replace items more often.
“You’re going to see legislation come forward called the right to repair,” Deglau noted. “A lot of companies are making their products so exclusive that only they can repair them or that people have to buy a replacement, and that’s crazy.”
He pointed to older household products like vintage Electrolux vacuums as examples of durable, repairable design that has largely disappeared in modern manufacturing.
“A used Electrolux vacuum can still cost you $250 and it could be almost 50 years old,” he said.
EnviroCollective says the Repair Café model also serves as an entry point into broader climate action by making sustainability approachable for people of all ages and backgrounds.
Rather than focusing solely on environmental messaging, the events create hands-on experiences where residents can see waste reduction happening in real time while meeting neighbours, volunteers and local experts.
The organization plans to continue hosting Repair Cafés throughout the rest of 2026, with upcoming events scheduled for Victoria Square Mall, Encore Market, Eastview Community Centre, the YWCA Regina and Heritage Winter Market.
Upcoming Regina Repair Café dates include:
June (TBA) — Victoria Square Mall
July 18 — Encore Market
August — location to be announced
Sept. 5 — Eastview Community Centre
Oct. 3 — YWCA Regina during Circular Economy Month
Nov. 7 — Victoria Square Mall
Dec. 5 — Heritage Winter Market
For organizers, the growing popularity of the events shows many people are looking for practical, affordable and community-driven alternatives to a throwaway culture.
And this weekend, all it takes to join in might be a broken toaster, a torn jacket or a bicycle that needs a little love.
