Repair Cafés

A great way to make items last longer, reduce waste, and to build community resilience is through Repair Cafés. Repair Cafés aim to help people fix items for free to avoid waste and to build a sense of community. Skilled menders and talented amateurs give their time and expertise for free to help people fix items that might have otherwise been thrown away. See Recycle Devon’s page on Repair Cafés for a list of on Repair Cafés in Exeter and nearby.

Library of Things

A Library of Things is a collection of objects loaned out for a small fee, that are then returned, making them available for loan by others. Sharing the things we only need to use every now and then reduces waste and the environmental effects of manufacturing and shipping goods, as well as being more affordable, and bringing the community closer together. See Exeter Library of Things for more information.

Community Fridges

Community Fridges are a public space where organisations and/or households can make perishable food that would have been wasted available to the local community. They are social spaces, usually run by volunteers – anyone can use the fridge. The aim is to reduce food waste, save households and businesses money, and strengthen community resilience. Exeter Community Fridge in Exeter Central Library is volunteer-led, funded by the National Lottery-funded 'Food Rescue' project, and takes contribution from organisations. The St Thomas Library Community Fridge is a volunteer-led vegan community fridge, coordinated by Love Food CIC and funded by the Coop via Hubbub, which runs the national Community Fridge Network. It accepts whole fruit & veg and sealed products labelled vegan from households and business/community surplus. If you are a household looking to make perishable food that would have been wasted available to the local community, the OLIO app is also suitable for this.

Climate Action Hub

This is a community hub in Exeter where the public can drop in to learn more about how we can work together to tackle the climate and ecological crises, advising them on action they can take, talking over their concerns, sharing resources and signposting to other organisations. See Climate Action Hub Exeter more information.

Community Action Grounds (CAG) Devon

Community Action Groups (CAG) Devon is an organisation which supports grassroots groups across Devon to build more climate resilient communities. By providing information, guidance, training, online resources, access to reduced insurance, small grants, and networking opportunities, CAG Devon assists local community groups working on waste reduction, composting, re-use and repair, and various sustainability projects. CAG Devon member groups set up and run diverse projects, including surplus food cafes, community fridges, community composting, repair cafes, clothes swaps, community gardens, beach cleans, tree planting, share shops and more. See the CAG Devon website for more information.