In a radical departure from the modern tradition of tossing broken blenders into the bin and pretending it never happened, a new free repair shop is opening in Oxford. The first Jericho Repair Shop will take place on Saturday at St Barnabas CE Primary School, in Jericho, between 10:00 and 12:00 BST. Yes, that's this Saturday, and yes, you can bring your broken stuff.

Organiser John Mair said everyone is welcome, and while the service is free, donations will go toward rental costs and advertising for the event. He hopes it will continue on a monthly basis. "It stops people throwing things away," Mair said, stating the obvious in a way that somehow still feels revolutionary.

Mair's inspiration came from personal experience: he used a repair shop in Wolvercote a year or two ago to fix his garden blower. "I thought this is a good idea," he said - a thought that apparently led to an entire community initiative. He has since recruited the bicycle repairman from Wolvercote, along with people who repair sewing machines, computers, and sharpen knives.

Ben Tuppen, co-ordinator of Share Oxford, which runs repair cafes in Oxford, previously said society needs to be more innovative about sustainability. He added that they were "pleased to share how we run things and promote John's new repair café with our volunteers, some of whom have joined his team too."

Mair's philosophy is simple: "If it doesn't work, repair it, don't throw it away and certainly don't throw it on the pavement." A bold stance against both landfills and littering.

He's expecting anywhere between 10 and 100 people at the launch. "It costs you nothing, but we'll expect a donation," he said. If enough people show up, the next events will be on the first Saturday of November and December. Mair, a veteran of organising public events like Lazy Saturday and Lazy Sunday in Mount Place, wants to "see how much demand there is."

"All communities need hubs and this might as well be one, so why not?" he added, single-handedly reviving the concept of neighbours helping neighbours - one broken toaster at a time.