An easy way to save money while preventing reusable items from being diverted to landfills is simply to fix them when they break.
The San Diego Fix-It Clinic will help the Ramona community do just that at one of its Fix-It Clinics set for 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 16 at the Ramona Community Library. Attendees are asked to arrive by 12:30 p.m.
Community members are invited to bring one small non-functioning or broken item to the Fix-It Clinic where it can be repaired by a volunteer, said Beth Prinz, vice president of Sustainable Ramona.
The goal of Sustainable Ramona, which was founded in 2020 and became a nonprofit in 2023, is to have the community become more involved in sustainability by adopting practices such as repairing, recycling, reusing and repurposing items, Prinz said.
Items that can be brought to the free clinic include computers and other electronics, small appliances such as toasters and coffee makers, toys and bicycles, jewelry, and clothing and textiles, organizers said.
The clinic is not intended as a drop-off and repair event. Instead, the owner of the item is paired with a repair person to get educated on the skills needed to fix it.
“People have to be able to carry the items in, so nothing large like a lawn mower,” Prinz said. “They’ll sit next to a person fixing it and learn how to fix it themselves.”
The program is sponsored by Zero Waste San Diego, a nonprofit founded 17 years ago as a grassroots movement to push for recycling in the city of San Diego.
Founder Laura Anthony said the organization encourages zero waste practices and works with communities on policies that are helping to get there. The concept of zero waste is based on managing resources by reducing, reusing, redesigning, repairing and recycling them, she said.
San Diego Fix-It Clinic teaches the attendees how to be a better consumer by purchasing things that can be repaired versus discarded, Anthony said. If you can find an item that lasts 20 years its both environmentally friendly and cost-effective.
The idea for the clinics started almost nine years ago when Anthony was working for the San Diego Public Library system. The clinics were slow to catch on until a few years ago when they began to be held regularly in Carlsbad and Chula Vista, Anthony said.
Clinics have been held at various venues such as at libraries, senior centers, a private business and Earth Day events.
In the last nine years, the San Diego Fix-It Clinic program has helped divert more than 30,000 pounds of waste from the landfills through repair and recycling, Anthony said. What cant be repaired is recycled, she added.
The last Fix-It Clinic in Ramona was held in June 2023
San Diego Fix-It Clinic is hosting this months event Ramona Library, but in the future, Sustainable Ramona may host them, Prinz said.
“Laura’s goal is to hand it off to Sustainable Ramona if we can get enough volunteers to repair items,” she said. The goal is to have each community set up its own volunteers and do it on their own instead of having to bring volunteers from down the hill all of the time.”
Volunteers who are handy with tools and knowledgeable about repairs are in demand, she added. Interested volunteers can contact Sustainable Ramona through its website, SustainableRamona.com, or by email at info@sustainableramona.com.
While the Fix-It Clinic in Ramona will accept walk-in customers, people in need of repairs are encouraged to RSVP online at SDFixItClinic.org.