Get Rid of your Second-Hand Goods
By passing your second-hand or unused gear on to someone who'll use it, you are both reducing the environmental resources required to satisfy our consumption and helping others.
These days, giving away or selling your unused stuff couldn't be easier. From online sites through to local charity clothing bins, there are loads of ways to shed the useless accumulated things from your life.
From an environmental perspective, recycling your second-hand goods extends the life of the thing you are shedding and defers the need for more resources to go into the manufacture of a new product.
How to do it now!
Drop it off at your local op shop - Op shops receive your unwanted goods and sell them cheaply to support charities focused at helping the poor and ailing members of our community. They are generally staffed by volunteers and always appreciate contributions.
- St Vincent de Paul Society
- The Salvation Army
- Baptist Bargain Centre
- Brotherhood of St Laurence
- Lifeline
- Save the Children Australia (SA)
- Doncare (Vic)
- Australian Animal Protection Society (Vic)
- Epilepsy Foundation of Victoria
Have a garage sale - Put an ad in the local paper, print out some signs, put them up in the local café and on corner telephone poles a day or two prior to the big event, and sell your stuff from the comfort of your own doorstep. Nice way to meet the neighbourhood, too.
Buy second-hand goods online - Try reading The Choice Buying Guide: Second-hand goods, which describes the rights and responsibilities of buyers and sellers of second-hand gear.
Some online sites from which to buy (& sell) second-hand goods:
And for sites which list free goods try:Why is this action important?
Reusing existing products has a two-fold effect on the environment: it reduces the need to extract more materials from nature and it circumvents large amount of concentrated (and often toxic) man-made materials entering the earth (most often as landfill).