A "Repair It" Success Story

What is better than recycling and also starts with an "R"? Repair! By choosing to repair our items rather than trashing them, we conserve valuable resources and reduce landfill waste.
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​Zero Waste Marin, in collaboration with Reuse Alliance, is making it easier for folks to repair a wide range of items by hosting Repair Fairs throughout Marin County.

Recently, one of our Resilient Neighborhoods graduates, Robin Moller, attended a Repair Fair to fix her electric eraser. In the old days, designers used electric erasers to erase pencil (and ink, if you’re careful!) lines on drawings.  Robin bought hers 50+ years ago and has used it ever since....

Robin Moller with her electric eraser.

Until one day, it stopped working properly. As a DIYer, Robin considered fixing it herself, but decided against it because she doesn't know much about electric motors. She searched online for local fix-it shops, but didn't have much luck. She asked her brother, the tinkerer, if he could take a look. However, before mailing it to him, she contacted Resilient Neighborhoods. She received a quick reply from Program Associate Jen Hammond, who suggested that she make an appointment at the upcoming Repair Fair at Pickleweed in San Rafael. Robin said, "I’m so glad I did!"

Steve fixing Robin's electric eraser at the Repair Fair.

Here is her recap of her experience: "At the Fair, friendly staff signed me in, curious about my weird tool, and directed me to Steve, an electrical engineer volunteering to help. The tool was also unfamiliar to Steve, but we looked at it together and agreed on what might be wrong and what might work to fix it, understanding there were no guarantees. Steve took it apart, and another couple of people took a look and offered suggestions (and their “extra” one, if mine couldn’t be fixed) and a special lubricant (“WD40 is not a lubricant!”), put it back together and voila, 35 minutes later it was fixed and I’m back in the business of erasing my mistakes! Not to mention being willing to try taking things apart on my own next time…"

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There are two more Repair Fairs scheduled this year!

• Saturday, September 13 | 1:00pm - 4:00pm. Repair Fair + Halloween Swap, San Anselmo Library.
• Saturday, October 4 | 11:00am - 2:00pm. Repair Fair, South Novato Library.