St Andrews café launches to combats throwaway culture

A Repair and Advice Café has been opened in St Andrews, with the hopes of teaching people how to fix their prized possessions.

The University of St Andrews' Community Fund allowed the café to offer its first session last week; they offer people the opportunity to meet with experts in various fields who will teach them how to repair their items. The project will be running on a monthly basis for university students, staff and the wider public, with the next session taking place on Valentine's Day.

The café aims to encourage people in St Andrews to be more sustainable, as part of the University of St Andrew's mission to meet net zero targets by 2035.

One of the organisers, Sonja Potjewijd, says the group hope to tackle throwaway culture.

She said: "There is a huge challenge, for us, as humans on this planet to become more sustainable, to look after the resources that we still have.

"There is definitely a need for doing things differently, and it's fun too because a repair and advice café is a fun place...you can meet new people and you can learn new skills."

Project Officer Anya Hart Dyke says the café will also move around St Andrews.

She added: "The Café will rotate locations so it’s a chance to peek inside places you may not have been into before and to see more of your local town."

Future Repair and Advice Cafés will also feature different experts who will offer support with a variety of issues, such as damaged mobile phones or musical instruments.