June 2026 marked the third birthday of Silsden Repair Café.
Our aim is simple: keep things out of landfill whilst helping local people save money. Three years on,
thanks to our 37 amazing volunteers, partners and visitors, the impact has been far bigger than we
ever imagined.
When we first opened our doors on 23 June 2023, 29 people brought along items for repair. Since
then, numbers have steadily grown, with our busiest session seeing 99 items brought in during the
2.5 hours we’re open.
Over the past three years:
- Over 3,000 people have come through our doors
- 2,320 items have been brought in for repair
- We’ve successfully repaired 89% of them
- That’s 2,066 items saved from landfill
And our impact doesn’t stop there.
During this time, our Refill Shop has helped save 3,432 plastic bottles from landfill, while our
popular monthly “Guest Spot” collections help local people pass on unwanted items instead of
throwing them away.
One of our most popular collections has been unwanted tech. The UK is the second-highest
producer of electronic waste per person in the world, generating millions of tonnes every year. Here
in Silsden, we’re doing our bit to reduce that impact.
Together, we’ve collected 277 unwanted smartphones, laptops and tablets, all refurbished by
Shipley-based charity Solidaritech.
We’ve also partnered with another Shipley charity, Upcycle, collecting 84 bikes across three
collections.
Upcycle runs bike-based programmes supporting at-risk young people across Bradford.
We’ve worked with Ilkley Tools for Africa, collecting carloads of unwanted tools for reuse overseas.
Stitch4Charity has collected more than £5,000 worth of unused medication to support people
affected by the war in Ukraine, alongside fabric donations used to create items that raise further
funds.
And huge thanks to the wonderful April, whose clothing swap events enabled 285 people to
exchange unwanted clothes for something new-to-them – reducing waste and avoiding unnecessary
shopping.
Looking Ahead
Silsden Repair Café is about much more than fixing broken items. It’s about community, sharing
skills, reducing waste and showing that small local actions really do add up. We’re always looking for
organisations to partner with for future Guest Spots, so if you have ideas or suggestions, we’d love
to hear from you.
