- The Palaszczuk Government will provide $300,000 in funding to support the expansion of Garage Sale Trail throughout Queensland.
- In 2022, Garage Sale Trail, a reuse program established in 2010, was supported by eight Queensland councils, with more than 1500 garage sale events involving more than 36,000 people during two weeks in November.
- This year’s Garage Sale Trail will be held over the weekends of 11-12 and 18-19 November.
The Palaszczuk Government will provide $300,000 in funding over four years to help Garage Sale Trail, one of Australia’s most successful waste avoidance programs, to expand across Queensland.
Garage Sale Trail is a “festival of pre-loved stuff” designed to save clothing and household items from ending up in landfill.
In 2022, more than 300,000 people shopped or sold at more than 15,000 garage sales across the nation, extending the life of over 3,000 tonnes of these items. In Queensland, more than 1500 garage sale events were held involving more than 36,000 people.
The annual event is made possible by partnerships with state and local governments across Australia, with the event previously receiving $220,000 in Queensland Government funding.
While participating councils declined significantly during COVID, the funding support from the Palaszczuk Government will help reinvigorate engagement with councils to increase involvement, providing a greater opportunity for members of the public to do their bit to give items a second life and save them from landfill.
This year’s Garage Sale Trail will be held over the weekends of 11-12 and 18-19 November.
Quotes attributable to the Minister for the Environment and the Great Barrier Reef, Leanne Linard:
“The Garage Sale Trail aligns with the Palaszczuk Government’s aims to build a circular economy, where materials are reused, recycled or remanufactured more, and less waste is produced in the first place.
“We have set ourselves an ambitious goal of diverting 80 per cent of waste from landfill and recycling 65 per cent of materials by 2030.
“Garage Sale Trail is described as the ‘circular economy in action’ with the garage sales organised during this yearly event helping thousands of items to be kept in use for as long as possible.
“The event allows individuals and the community to participate in recycling and reusing to avoid and reduce waste, reducing the impact of waste on the environment.
Quotes attributable to Andrew Valder, Co-founder, Garage Sale Trail:
“We’re excited by the Garage Sale Trail Foundation’s partnership with the Queensland Government which will see more Queensland local governments and ultimately more Queenslanders participate in the circular economy.
“Data from the 2022 Garage Sale Trail shows that nationally some 32 per cent of sellers who get involved say the items they sold would otherwise have gone to landfill, with a further eight per cent saying they would have otherwise dumped items on the kerbside if they didn’t sell them at their garage sale.
“The program is changing people’s behaviour.
“Twenty-seven per cent of participants, which equates to 10,000 Queenslanders, said that they are now more likely to buy second hand over new after having a garage sale and 59 per cent, which equates to more than 21,330 Queenslanders, had never bought or sold in the second-hand market prior to Garage Sale Trail.
“Our purpose has always been to shine a spotlight on reuse and the need to preserve nature’s finite resources by extending the life of the stuff we buy.
“We hope you can join us in November 2023 for the next edition of Australia’s festival of pre-loved stuff.”
