Sydneysiders open their garages for sustainability

Hundreds of households across Sydney took part in the second annual Garage Sale Trail last Sunday to raise awareness for sustainable disposal practices.

The hugely successful initiative, which encourages people to reduce, reuse and recycle their junk, was piloted in Bondi last year and this year made its debut as a nation-wide event.

The City of Sydney, which was involved for the first time in an official capacity as a strategic partner, operated two village sales – in Glebe and Surry Hills – raising over $1,300 for its charity partner, Keep Australia Beautiful.

Garage Sale Trail founder, Darryl Nichols, said at the official opening of the event, while the primary focus was on reducing the amount rubbish going to landfill, it was equally about bringing people together and uniting communities.

“It is a unique collaboration that wouldn’t happen without the support and input of communities all over the country,” he said, referring to the 1,608 registered garage sales around Australia.

“It has really captured the imagination. People have come up with some weird and wacky ideas; someone even tried to sell their flatmate.”

The official opening of the event in Surry Hills was headlined by Australian rugby union captain, Rocky Elsom – also a garage sale host – who autographed Wallabies jerseys and balls for auction.

Another highlight was an impromptu performance on a drum kit which was up for auction by Hamish Rosser of rock band, The Vines.

While most navigated the trail on foot, a small group set off early to tackle the sales by bike, taking with them trailers to haul back their loot.

City of Sydney sustainability marketing manager, Olga Argyrou, told City News that the day had been a resounding success with over 90 garage sales in Surry Hills, an additional 50 in Glebe and many more across the local government area.

“There are about 30 local councils involved across Australia,” said Ms Argyrou on the day.

“We have about 10 City of Sydney staff involved throughout Surry Hills and Glebe.  There are probably a similar number of Garage Sale Trail volunteers around Surry Hills.

While there was no obligation for participants to contribute their proceeds to charity, the council recommended a donation of 10 per cent to Keep Australia Beautiful which has made significant inroads in promoting more sustainable waste management practices.

The Garage Sale Trail took place only days after the City of Sydney had endorsed a deal to dramatically reduce the amount of its household waste buried in landfill sites in the outer suburbs.

Under a proposed new waste disposal arrangement, the City will instead send its 40,000 tonnes of annual household garbage to an advanced waste treatment facility that recovers recyclable materials and produces compost.

It is aiming for two thirds of Council and residential waste to be re-used, recycled or recovered by 2014 and to reduce CO2 emissions by 70 per cent by 2030 as part of its Sustainable Sydney 2030 strategy.