A new community-driven initiative is set to reduce landfill waste and offer bargain hunters some unique finds in Taupō this month.
"Junktown," described as a "garage sale for op shops," will run as a pilot project over two consecutive Saturdays, offering items that aren't quite suitable for retail but are too valuable to send to landfill.
Julian from Volunteer Great Lake Taupō explained the concept during an interview with Lake FM this week.
"Junktown is a community-driven initiative. So with the likes of the Timebank Community Gardens, the council, and Volunteer Great Lake Taupō, and really what it is, is a garage sale for op shops because a lot of stuff gets given to the op shops with the best intentions at heart, but it's not quite shop ready," he said.
The initiative addresses a common problem faced by local charity shops.
"The op shops are always struggling for space, so they can't store it, but it's far too good to throw away. So we came up with the initiative to have a Junktown, which is really a garage sale for op shops, and it's just a gold coin donation," Julian added.
The second Junktown event on March 29th will run alongside the popular Repair Café, offering visitors a chance to not only purchase pre-loved items but also get them fixed on the spot if needed.
"You can come down, sort through something, find it, and if it needs to be glued back together, you can bring it across to the Repair Café. Or if there's a small tear or a button missing... it just means that you can get that chance to give that pre-loved item a second chance and grab it for a steal, really," Julian explained.
Organisers are seeking volunteers to help with both events, with interested individuals encouraged to register through the Volunteer Great Lake Taupō website or Facebook page.
Both Junktown events will run from 9am to 1pm at the Taupō Timebank Community Garden, 250 Spa Road, Taupō.
