Good deed garage sale of building materials for school funding
A giant garage sale in Cambridge this month will offer bargain hunters the chance to buy quality, discounted building materials while doing an environmental good deed.
The Great DIY Garage Sale will see leftover building products from construction sites around the district go up for sale.
The products have all been donated by Waipa¯ companies and would otherwise have been headed to landfill.
The event has been driven by Cambridgebased Rob May Builders and is supported by Waipa¯ District Council.
The Cambridge East School PTA will be supplying volunteers on the day with all proceeds from the garage sale going directly to the school.
Companies involved include Tree Town Kitchens, Wackrow Joinery, Carters, Suretrade Building Services, Brewer Joinery, BTG Electrical and Amber Nurseries.
Shaw’s Wire Ropes will host the sale at its premises in Victoria Road.
Council’s waste minimisation officer Sally Fraser says it’s important to remember that waste is more than what goes out on the kerbside for collection.
“Construction and demolition waste makes up around 11.5 per cent of all waste in the greater Waikato region — that’s around 26,000 tonnes of product each year.
“It’s definitely an area we’re keen to do better in.”
“Connecting large building and construction companies with home DIYers is a great way to stop leftover building materials going to landfill and if it can save us all a bit of money on the way through, that’s a bonus.”
“Rob May Builders have done a fantastic job. I hope it’s an initiative that takes off elsewhere.”
Rob May Builders director Jono McCullough says the idea for the garage sale came from seeing the amount of waste leaving their own building sites.
“We try not to be wasteful but there are always some leftover products at the end of each build.
“These materials are either thrown out or stored to be used at a later date.
“We’ve been looking at better ways to manage this, but there are always some products that slip through the cracks.
“This event is great because we’re finding new uses for our waste, keeping material out of landfill and supporting a local school in the process. It’s a win-win allround.”
The garage sale starts at 9am on Sunday, October 28 at Shaw’s Wire Ropes, 75 Victoria Road, Cambridge. Doors will not open earlier.