Prince William County In Need Of 'Fixers' To Work At Fix-It Fair

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, VA — Keep Prince William Beautiful and the Prince William County Solid Waste Division are recuiting "fixers" — no, not the "Ray Donovan" type of fixer — to participate in the county's first Fix-It Fair this spring. Fix-It events provide members of the community the opportunity to bring salvageable items for repair and subsequent reuse.

Given the popularity of these types of events in other communities, Keep Prince William Beautiful and the county government hope to hold one in Prince William County. The groups are hoping to get anywhere between seven and 12 fixers to show up to make the event possible.

Getting items fixed rather than throwing them out helps conserve landfill space and promotes an an alternative to today's throw-away culture. "A Fix-It Fair provides a convenient way for people to make their 'it’s in good shape, except' items useable again and this reduces wastes and promotes re-use," Tom Smith, chief of the county's Solid Waste Division, said in a statement.

Keep Prince William Beautiful and the Solid Waste Division are hoping to recruit people who can fix things like jewelry, clothing, small furniture and appliances, umbrellas, glasses, ceramics and other portable items to participate in the event.

The county is unaware of any communities in Virginia that have hosted a fix-it event, but these types of fairs have become popular on the West Coast in cities such as Portland, Oregon, and Tacoma, Washington.

People with fix-it skills and who can help for a few hours at the county's first fix-it community event are invited to send an email to PWCRecycles@pwcgov.org with their name, phone and fix-it specialties.

Keep Prince William Beautiful is a nonprofit group that partners with residents, businesses and government to protect the environment in the county.