Benefield: Don’t toss it, fix it with help at free Forestville event

We’ve all got ‘em.

The quirky lamp that is on the fritz. The favorite pair of pants with a hem that won’t stay put. Or a beloved old beach cruiser with a wobbly pedal.

We keep them around, gathering dust and getting in the way, because, well, maybe we’ll get around to having them repaired.

The day to get around to it is Saturday.

Instead of letting these things become clutter or discarding them as waste, folks are being encouraged to at minimum get them repaired at a local fix-it fair, and at best, learn something about how to make those same repairs themselves.

“We are trying to pay attention to how much in our culture gets thrown away without much thought,” said Steve Griffith, one of the organizers of Saturday’s event. “We use it and toss it and move on. We can’t be using resources like that anymore.”

The event, hosted by Russian River Rotary, will feature folks who are experts in repairs of bikes, lamps and small appliances, clothing and textiles, and wood and metal items.

There will also be a sharpening service on hand.

The event, which will be at the now-shuttered El Molino High School campus in Forestville, is free.

“There is quite a variety of available people to bring (items) to, whether it’s the patio chair or the clock on the mantle that needs the corner to be reglued,” Griffith said.

The event will also feature information booths from a variety of groups, including Sonoma County Library, Corazón Healdsburg, Sonoma County Fire, River to Coast Children’s Services and Zero Waste Sonoma, which is helping support the event.

If the notion of fixing the only pair of jeans that fit you right isn’t enough of a draw, there will also be a food truck and DJ, organizers said.

But the main push will always be to keeping household items in use for longer.

“There is a lot of benefit to keeping those items working as long as possible,” said Sloane Pagal, the program manager for Zero Waste Sonoma.

Benefit to home because favorite items can stick around and still be of use. Benefit to pocketbook because we don’t have to buy replacement items. But also benefit to community and the environment because tossing something in the trash doesn’t mean it goes away.

“We have 20-25 years left … of space at the Sonoma County landfill,” Pagal said.

Anything that extends the life of the landfill is a benefit to all, Pagal said.

And that means keeping things out of it. Keeping things longer. Making repairs rather than tossing and buying more.

“It’s a state of mind,” Griffith said.

For Griffith, there is hope not only that folks will get their items repaired Saturday, but perhaps learn how to fix those things themselves in the future.

The whole teach a man to fish idea.

“We are trying at every stage to make it as sustainable of an example as possible,” he said.

While this is a stand-alone event, it’s modeled on similar events in Sonoma County.

Zero Waste North Bay is organizing a second annual countywide “Zero Waste Week” July 23-29 which will include another fix-it event on July 29 at the Rohnert Park Cotati Regional Library.

Last year’s event had information on produce swaps, clothing swaps, compost tutorials, instructions on reducing water waste and others.

But supporting and hosting smaller, hyperlocal events like the one at El Molino on Saturday is also about community-building, Pagal said.

“We are trying to create a network of ‘fixing’ and being able to share those contacts and resources,” she said.

If it proves popular, Russian River Rotary is game to try it again, said Ana Maria Padilla, Rotary’s point person for Saturday’s event.

“We do want to see if it’s a good turnout,” she said. “Hopefully we can provide this event every year.”

You can reach Staff Columnist Kerry Benefield at 707-526-8671 or kerry.benefield@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @benefield.