The idea for Repair Cafe was born in Amsterdam two years ago as a reaction against throwaway consumerism.

The Netherlands puts less than 3 per cent of its municipal waste into landfills. That can be reduced even further by extending the lifespan of household goods.

The campaigners in the Netherlands insist that the cost of doing nothing - of letting the precious metals within these products go to waste - is far greater than the cost of trying to salvage them. They are trying to change the value society places on raw materials.

Al Jazeera's Paul Brennan reports from The Hague.