Sustainability Victoria is making it easier for councils and local communities to develop solutions to reduce waste, reuse resources, and divert items from landfill.
The newly launched Romsey Resale Shop, located at the Romsey Resource Recovery Facility, will accept and on-sell a range of goods, including furniture, camping gear, toys and kitchen items. The shop will also include a "builders' yard" for timber, pipes, posts, and metal sheets for reuse in gardening and small projects.
It's good news for the environment and for the hip pocket. 'The community can get a bargain!' says Bill Pemberton, Coordinator Resource Recovery at Macedon Ranges Shire Council.
'I like to rummage through the vinyl because you never know what you'll find. For other people, they're after a hand tool. A lawnmower, maybe $50,' says Bill. 'If you need a bicycle, you should always go to the tip shop first - a bicycle would be about $10.
'If your washing machine breaks down and you don't want to buy a new one because they're expensive, try the tip shop. At Romsey, we've got about 3 washing machines at around $100 each. If you can get one that does the job, then the tip shop's a good spot!'
Bill is passionate about creating circular economy entry points for the Macedon Ranges community. 'The community get the opportunity to do higher-order recycling - that's reuse. Sometimes they might just need a sheet of iron or a short piece of pipe - so we aim to provide those things to give people the opportunity to fix things rather than having to go out and buy more than they need with a high price tag.
'They can also get older things. We had a set of vintage glasses with a matching jug, but the jug cracked. And bingo - there it was in the tip shop! So, there's opportunities like that, to bring back to life a treasured set.'
The new centre is one of 67 projects supported by the $5.9 million Circular Economy Councils Fund to help lower the volume of council materials going to landfill, while increasing the volume of material reused, repaired, repurposed or recycled.
'We're aiming to have community volunteers help in the tip shop, cleaning and repairing some things. That's community connection,' says Bill. 'We're speaking with the local Men's Sheds about what they might want and how they might be able to get involved. Different people can get different things out of it. These are all good things.'
The Macedon Ranges Shire Council received funding at the same time to upgrade their Kyneton Resale Shop with new shelving and a sorting room for volunteers to test and repair items before they go for sale. They have diverted 1.5 tonnes of goods from landfill in the 6 months since reopening. 'We wouldn't have been able to do this without the funding from Sustainability Victoria, and we are really happy with the result.'
Projects supported through the Circular Economy Councils Fund have to date diverted over 1,900 tonnes of waste from landfill and created 73 jobs.
This program is supported by the Victorian Government's $380 million circular economy plan, Recycling Victoria: a new economy. The plan sets out the system-wide changes required to reduce waste, boost jobs and establish a recycling system that Victorians can rely on.
