enfinium, a leading energy from waste operator, has today launched the second year of the Repair Café Support Fund, providing an additional £20,000 in funding for Repair Cafés near its facilities and expanding eligibility to include more areas across North Wales.
The initiative provides up to £1,500 of grant funding to support eligible Repair Cafés, located nearby its UK operating facilities in West Yorkshire, the West Midlands, Kent and North Wales, to repair faulty household items for free, diverting waste from harmful landfill and helping people save on the cost of replacing items. A Repair Café is a community-based not-for-profit organisation, often with charitable status, that offers free repairs of common household items.
In its first year, enfinium’s fund supported the work of 15 Repair Cafés, awarding a combined total of £16,079 in funding. The grants supported a variety of needs, including covering operating costs, investing in new equipment, upskilling volunteers, and delivering initiatives aimed at encouraging youth participation, helping foster repair mindsets in the next generation.
Repair Cafes that are eligible to apply for funding are those located within a 30-mile radius of one of enfinium’s facilities in Kent, West Yorkshire, or the West Midlands. In addition, for the first time this year, an expanded geographical area around enfinium’s Parc Adfer facility in North Wales can also apply for funding – including Repair Cafes across in the counties of Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Gwynedd, and the Isle of Anglesey in Wales. Applications close on 31st May 2025.
Repair Cafes are growing in number across the UK, with The Restart Project estimating that the number of Repair Cafes in the UK had increased a third since early 2023, now totalling over 600.1
If you would like to learn more about the Repair Café Support Fund, or apply for funding, please visit the project website or email communityfunding@enfinium.co.uk.
Mike Maudsley, CEO of enfinium, said: “Repair Cafés are an important community resource that enable the repair rather than replacement of faulty household items. In doing so, they help reduce waste and make a vital contribution to the UK’s growing circular economy, whilst also helping people hold on to cherished items for longer, save money, and prevent waste from ending up in harmful landfill. We are delighted that we can support community initiatives that not only empower individuals to make more sustainable choices but also foster connections and skill-sharing that benefit us all.”
Lesley Wood, Town Clerk, Flint Repair Café, which received funding through the first year of enfinium’s Fund, said: “enfinium’s funding helped strengthen our ability to meet the repair needs of our community. This support has enabled us to provide an improved service at a time when reducing waste is more critical than ever. It is fantastic that enfinium is expanding the reach of their Fund across more regions in North Wales. We would encourage other members of the Repair Café community to apply.”
ENDS
Notes to editor
Statistical information
1 ‘UK Factsheet’ in ‘The Rise of the Community Repair: The People and the Data Creating a Movement’, The Restart Project, October 2024. Available here: https://therestartproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/UK-Factsheet-ORA-report-addendum.pdf
About enfinium
enfinium is a leading UK energy from waste operator with four operational sites in the UK, in West Yorkshire, Kent and Flintshire, and two in construction. enfinium diverts 2.3 million tonnes of unrecyclable waste from climate-damaging landfill, putting it to good use by turning it into home grown energy, enough to power 500,000 UK homes. enfinium’s ambition is to transform its facilities into local ‘decarbonisation hubs’ powered by the millions of tonnes of unrecyclable waste the UK will produce for decades to come. Using existing energy from waste infrastructure, enfinium could contribute to heat networks, produce electrolytic hydrogen, or use carbon capture technology to provide durable, high quality carbon removals which will be critical for the UK to achieve net zero by 2050. For more on enfinium, please visit www.enfinium.co.uk.
