Scenic Rim forges ahead on the Garage Sale Trail

Homewares proved popular on the Garage Sale Trail

Scenic Rim sellers who turned their trash into cash during two weekends of garage sales in November 2022 generated more than $40,000 in sales and saved almost 3.2 tonnes of unwanted items from landfill.

Results of a recently released nationwide survey by Taverner Research into the success of the Garage Sale Trail have shown a win-win for Scenic Rim sellers and shoppers, with 2721 locals participating in Australia’s biggest festival of second-hand wares compared with 290,871 nationally.

Scenic Rim Mayor Greg Christensen, who chairs the Council of Mayors (SEQ) Waste Working Group, said the survey results underscored the commitment of the local community to reducing waste and increasing participation in the circular economy.

“Programs such as the Garage Sale Trail play a valuable role in shifting community perceptions of purchasing second hand, supporting the transition to a circular economy and enabling more effective reuse and recycling of unwanted items,” he said.

“It’s often said that one person’s trash is another’s treasure and this has certainly been borne out by the results of the Garage Sale Trail.”

Some 1130 Garage Sale Trail participants nationwide completed the event survey, with one Scenic Rim resident commenting: “It was a great experience to find good homes for our unused stuff. That was the best part.”

While sales of unwanted items generated plenty of extra cash, as each Scenic Rim seller made an average of $575, only 44 per cent had set out to make money compared with 87 per cent of survey respondents who said they had wanted to declutter and 60 per cent who said they wanted to see their items reused and avoid landfill.

A total of 188 Garage Sale Trail events were hosted across the Scenic Rim over two weekends, with 28 per cent of sales held over two or more days.

As an added bonus, the event helped improve community connection with 49 people on average meeting at each household sale.

Nationwide, couples with children represented 31 per cent of the Garage Sale Trail participants while 28 per cent were retirees.

Fashion items proved the best sellers at 42 per cent, followed by books, games and music (40 per cent) homewares (33 per cent), gardening equipment and tools (27 per cent) and children’s toys (22 per cent).

Promotion by councils was credited with a 21 per cent increase in participation in the program nationally, which grew by 60 per cent to 290,871 Australians involved in 13,675 sale events in 2022.

“Scenic Rim Regional Council is proud to have been part of this initiative that has helped community members find a home for their preloved items,” Mayor Christensen said.

“It’s heartening to know that, in our region alone, participation in the Garage Sale Trail prevented 13 per cent of the almost 25 tonnes of waste which was reused from ending up in landfill.

“I look forward to seeing this trend continue as increasingly the focus is on finding sustainable ways to declutter and more economical ways for people to buy the products they want and need, particularly in these challenging times.”