Canberra institution The Green Shed says goodbye after 35 years but the circular economy means its mission will continue

ABC NEWS (Australia)

The owner of Canberra’s beloved Green Shed have said their goodbyes after more than 35-years of saving waste from landfill and finding it a new home. St Vincent de Paul will take over all sites tomorrow, reopening to the public on the first day of July. But before the keys were handed over, Sandie Parkes and Charlie Bigg-Wither reflect on what the closing of the businesses means to them.

Transcript

00:00 When we first started, no one really trusted us.

00:05 I think about 80% of all this stuff went to the tip and we had to bring it back.

00:09 And then over the years we've kind of gained that trust through the different things that

00:12 we've done.

00:13 We've been privileged to be able to help other people, but we could only do that because

00:16 people have helped us.

00:18 The hill I'm standing on is solid landfill containing years of waste from the Canberra

00:22 community.

00:23 Down there is the company I work for.

00:26 It's called Revolve.

00:27 Was it actually, it was actually here, wasn't it?

00:29 It was here, but it was oval and it almost touched that.

00:33 So this is where we started at Revolve in 1988, July the 1st.

00:38 And on the first day, we, at the end of the day, I remember right at the end, there was

00:42 like just a few shelves had a jug on it, like a saucepan.

00:46 I think it was a lawnmower, you know, a couple of things.

00:50 And we're very, very happy with all this stuff.

00:53 And over the last 35 years, we've just grown into something huge, really huge.

00:59 Last year, Revolve removed more than 3,000 tonnes of material from this tip alone.

01:04 It feels like you're doing a really good thing.

01:06 You know, I just love old stuff.

01:09 I love even new stuff, you know, stuff that can be reused.

01:12 It just feels like you're doing something good and purposeful.

01:15 I only ended up here because I was chasing her.

01:18 And that's the honest truth.

01:20 We've really adhered to those circular economy principles for a very long time.

01:24 A good example of a sustainable business, which ticks the triple bottom line of being

01:29 good for the environment, good for the economy, and good socially.

01:33 So for us, that's just been something that has been a real achievement as well.

01:38 Because there aren't many places like this that aren't subsidised or aren't run by councils

01:42 or aren't like we actually prove that you can do it as a business.

01:45 It can be profitable, and you can still do all the right things at the same time.

01:49 And yeah, that's been our goal.

01:51 And I think we've achieved that, so it's been good.

01:55 (upbeat music)

01:57 [BLANK_AUDIO]

Category

Transcript

Recommended