Yesterday’s New York Times had an interesting piece about a group of people in Amsterdam who help people fix things instead of throw them out; like an old iron that doesn’t steam or a skirt with a hole in it.

Founder of the Repair Cafe, Martine Postma:

“In Europe, we throw out so many things,” said Martine Postma, a former journalist who came up with the concept after the birth of her second child led her to think more about the environment. “It’s a shame, because the things we throw away are usually not that broken. There are more and more people in the world, and we can’t keep handling things the way we do.”

Exactly! This is how Makers see the world. Sure, something breaks, but that doesn’t mean it’s ready for the trash can. Look at all the things that have been saved with the mindset that Ms. Postma talks about:

 

Thingiverse user Renosis saved a family member’s beloved wrist watch by making a replacement for the lost battery cover. He wrote, “I don’t expect anyone has the same watch and if they do, I wouldn’t expect that they lost the back to it. This is more of a proof of concept. I wanted to post it because I was so amazed that it worked and hopefully, it will inspire someone else to use this temporary fix one day if their watch breaks.”

 

rbckman made a replacement lock mechanism for his buddy’s dishwasher. The manufacturer of the dishwasher wasn’t shipping that part anymore, so they either had to fix it with a custom part or throw out the dishwasher. The choice is clear!

 

 

 

lazlo‘s blender broke, and the solution was to simply make a new gear. Why throw out an almost perfectly good blender? Good as new.

 

 

 

The other day, Brendan Dawes saved a mop from going to the garbage by just making a couple new clips.

 

 

 

 

 

Annelise talked about her own fix to the drain plug in her kitchen sink. If you don’t have a handle to remove that plug, it’s gotta go. That handle broke, so she just made a new one, and avoided a trip to Home Depot.

 

Even better: these are all available for free for anyone! Sometimes people wonder, “why should I make more stuff out of plastic?” But a lot of times it’s more about the waste you’re not creating by keeping old things in good condition!

What have you revitalized with a MakerBot?

 

EARTH DAY is this Sunday, April 22nd and to celebrate, this week we’ll be sharing some awesome examples of makers doing their part to save the planet, and giving you ideas for ways you can participate.

This afternoon, we want to draw your attention to a fun contest that falls right into the Earth Day mission.

MAKE Magazine recently partnered with Schick to launch the Project Remake Contest to find the next great green maker. The contest wants to recognize ingenious ideas for making old things into new things. Whether your thing is de-soldering legacy motherboards for their reusable components, building furniture out of reclaimed plastics, or fabricating sculpture from waste objects, enter Project Remake for the chance to win one of 5 MakerBot Replicators!

One Grand Prize winner will receive (in addition to a Replicator) an expenses-paid trip for two (and their winning project!) to World Maker Faire in New York City this September.

Project Remake is already accepting entries, and will continue to run until May 14. The countdown is on!

As you think about what you might submit, remember that projects may be functional, utilitarian, or simply beautiful. This is a great opportunity for those in the MakerBot community who love to work on less artistic things. Ultimately, submissions will be judged against the following criteria:

• Originality & Creativity
• Alignment with the goals of Project Remake
• Eco-Friendliness
• Feasibility
• Media & Public Interest

Are you ready? Are the gears turning? Then go get started here!

Lastly, we must include this note to our international readers: to be eligible to win, you must be a legal resident of one of the 50 US states or the District of Columbia, and be 18 years of age or older at the time of entry. Complete rules can be found online here.

Go get ‘em, Makers!