Subsession at The Federation of New York Solid Waste Conference

Breakout Session | Repair, Reuse, Reimagine: Community Solutions for Waste Reduction, May 19, 2026, 10:45 AM - 12:15 PM (EDT)

Discover how communities and organizations are strengthening resilience and cutting waste by reimagining reuse systems from the ground up. Learn how to launch effective Repair Cafes that build community skills and keep valuable materials in circulation. Explore what it really takes to create a modern tool‑lending library—including partnerships, funding, and the tech that keeps everything running smoothly. Then dig into common misconceptions about organizational reuse and see how correcting them can unlock major savings and advance true circularity across campuses, agencies, and institutions.

Subsession | Building Community Resilience Through Repair: A Practical Guide to Starting Your Own Repair Cafe, May 19, 2026, 10:45 AM - 11:15 AM (EDT)

Repair Cafes are emerging as powerful tools for waste reduction, community building, and skill sharing. This session will provide a roadmap for launching successful repair events in your community, drawing on lessons learned from Repair Cafe CNY's first two events. Participants will learn practical strategies for community engagement including effective marketing, partnership development, and leveraging existing local resources. The session will cover important initial considerations like securing a location, recruiting skilled volunteers, and organizing the event itself. We'll also explore how Repair Cafes can serve as hubs for broader community repair ecosystems by amplifying other local reuse and repair initiatives. Whether you're a waste reduction coordinator looking for new diversion strategies or a community organizer wanting to build local resilience, this session will provide actionable steps to get started. Resources will be shared, such as John Wackman's Repair Revolution, and connections will be made to the broader repair movement.

Speaker:

Morgan Ingraham, Institute for Sustainability Engagement at Syracuse University, Sustainability Program Associate

For more information on the conference: https://conference.nyfederation.org/