“Biggest-ever” Garage Sale Trail set for Saturday

Garage Sale Trail
Scores of councils across Australia are getting behind this year’s Garage Sale Trail, which takes place this Saturday (22 October), to divert more unwanted items from landfill than ever before.

Now in its sixth year and the biggest community reuse event in the country, Garage Sale Trail sees hundreds of thousands of people participating in a national day of garage sales. Almost 3 million pre-loved items were sold at over 13,000 gatherings across the country in 2015, which redistributed enough goods to fill 100 kilometres of shopping trolleys, saving them from disposal.

The award-winning sustainability and community campaign was founded in 2010 by Andrew Valder and Darryl Nichols. The initiative encourages people to reuse their unwanted “stuff”, take responsibility for their waste and have a little fun along the way.

The event is made possible due to the backing of 153 councils and state government partners across the country, a number that is growing every year. The event’s “Council Leaderboard” shows Brisbane City Council has 329 sales registered for 22 October, followed by Central Coast with 185 and the NSW Inner West Council with 139.

Research undertaken during the 2015 event found that 74 per cent of participants were more conscious of the role they could play in reducing waste after taking part.

“The simple act of having a garage sale does a lot more than enable decluttering, making pocket money and grabbing a bargain,” said Barbara Gill, National Partnership Manager at Garage Sale Trail. “It’s also a way to bring communities together, help save the environment and improve people’s wellbeing.” As at 19 October, 14,522 sales and stalls had registered nationally with the total value of items for sale standing at $11.6 million.

Details of all the Garage Sale Trail sales are on the campaign website, while people can follow the events on Twitter at #garagesaletrail.

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