ABC Radio Hobart / By Carol Rääbus
Posted Fri 22 Apr 2016 at 9:11am
Australia’s first tip shop marks 23 years of re-using, reducing and recycling.(936 ABC Hobart: Carol Raabus)
Re-use is the mantra of tips shops around Australia as we deal with ever-increasing waste.
The Recovery Centre — known to most as the Glenorchy Tip Shop — this year marks 23 years of operation and show no signs of slowing down.
“We’re the original tip shop in Australia — in fact I coined that term,” founder and managing director Brad Mashman said.
Brad Mashman coined the term tip shop when he started the first one in Glenorchy.(936 ABC Hobart: Carol Raabus)
Mr Mashman was an industrial designer in Sydney before he moved to Tasmania.
“When I was a designer we used to design materials that would last 25 years plus,” he said.
“Now we’re down to about five years.”
He got interested in the idea of opening a shop to sell materials recovered from landfill to reduce waste.
After consulting with Hobart and Glenorchy councils, they were given the go-ahead to open a tiny shop next to the tip.
Brad Mashman said the customers decide what the shop sells. If there is no market for an item, it has no value.(936 ABC Hobart: Carol Raabus)
The Glenorchy Tip Shop now employs 14 people and sells everything from soft toys to building materials, all presented to the public in easy-to-understand categories.
“We started with the intention of providing a high quality outcome and as time progressed the department system grew,” Mr Mashman said.
“If you just think of what’s in your office, what’s in your home, what’s in your shed.
“We manage household goods, commercial and industrial … ultimately whatever our customer base determines we can sell.”
Spare parts are usually cheaper from tip shops.(936 ABC Hobart: Carol Raabus)
When the shop first opened there was some stigma attached to items having come from someone’s rubbish, but attitudes and practices have changed.
“We have three sourcing mechanisms,” Mr Mashman said.
“One is salvaging directly from landfill, and that ensures that everything we pick up from landfill is on sold … the second is drop-offs.
“Third, we have a pick-up service … to intercept construction and demolition materials before they enter landfill.”
The Recovery Shop has a pick-up service for construction and demolition materials so they can be on sold to the public rather than go into landfill.(936 ABC Hobart: Carol Raabus)
Mr Mashman said drop-offs have increased over the years and more people were bringing in quality stuff that could be on sold.
“Sometimes people might think they’re offloading a whole lot of rubbish on us and that might be some of the best stuff we see on any given day,” he said.
“And other times people drop-off what they think is amazing stuff and we don’t have a market for it.”
Mr Mashman said despite the best efforts of recovery centres like theirs, the problem of landfill in Australia was getting worse.
“Waste is increasing,” he said.
You can find just about anything in a tip shop.(936 ABC Hobart: Carol Raabus)
“Consumer purchasing is becoming shorter, product replacement is becoming shorter, so the need for this centre to remain here is ever evident.
“All governments need to take heed of the significant desire by the community to revisit policy around resource recovery.”
And after 23 years of working with recovered materials, Mr Mashman does have one particular favourite find — a tiny stray kitten found under the shop office.
“Blissy the cat. He’s probably the best find,” he said.
“He guides us on how to be exceptionally under pressure and yet to thrive and be happy.”
Posted 22 Apr 2016
Link: abc.net.au/news/australias-first-tip-shop-turns-23/7349626
