East Brunswick Repair Cafe and Craft Supply Swap Partnership Wins 2026 ANJEC Environmental Achievement Award

East Brunswick Public Library, the East Brunswick Sustainability Task Force and the Friends of the East Brunswick Environmental Commission (FEBEC) were honored with a 2026 ANJEC Environmental Achievement Award for their collaborative Repair Cafe and Craft Supply Swap program series.

The Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions (ANJEC) presented the prestigious award during its 2026 Environmental Congress in New Brunswick, NJ.

The program owes much of its significant growth over the two past years to the leadership of Karen Ellingson and Jane Geiger of the East Brunswick Sustainability Task Force, alongside the East Brunswick Public Library's Adult Programming Librarian Melissa Hozik.

The award-winning partnership brings community members together to divert suable goods from landfills through two complementary sustainability initiatives:

• The Repair Cafe: Joining the international trend of community volunteer experts helping their neighbors fix broken items free of charge, the partnership has held three Repair Cafe events. Volunteers have successfully repaired clothing, textiles, lamps, soft toys, jewelry, watches, bicycles and small appliances—even 3D-pringint custom replacement parts on site.
• The Craft Supply Swap: Community members donate unused crafting materials ahead of each event. Volunteers from FEBEC, the Task Force and local 4-H organize the supplies in the library's meeting rooms. Donors and community members get to "shop the swap," taking home new-to-them materials in reusable bags. During the 2026 swap, out of donations from 120 participants, only a single box of leftover material went unselected.

"The success of these programs relies heavily on the time, space and dedication invested by library staff and volunteers," Hozik noted.

For more information about upcoming Recycling Cafes, Craft Supply Swaps or future environmental programming visit the East Brunswick Public Library's website www.ebpl.org/sustainbability.