Vinnies set to take over Canberra’s popular Green Shed

Current operators Charlie Bigg-Wither and Sandie Parkes of the Green Shed will hand over to St Vincent de Paul Society on 30 May this year.

The Mugga Lane and Mitchell Reusable Facilities will continue to operate in the way Canberrans “know and love” under the management of St Vincent de Paul Society Canberra/Goulburn, according to Director of Commercial Operations, Lindsay Rae.

The freshly rebranded Goodies Junction will be open from 31 May for donations only and for shopping from 1 July this year.

The facility will accept and sell reusable goods, cutting waste and helping local charities in the ACT.

The new website, launched last Friday, notes that Goodies Junction is dedicated to recovering as many resources as possible from landfills, which means accepting as many donations as possible.

“We respect and appreciate the strong passions people feel about the reusable facilities and their vital role in the community,” Mr Rae said.

“The things people love about donating and shopping at the two locations will not change. Taking up the contract will mean that we can help even more people experiencing disadvantage in our community.”

The ACT government chose the non-profit organisation as the preferred tenderer for the Mitchell and Mugga Lane recycling and reselling depots in a recent procurement process. Current operators Charlie Bigg-Wither and Sandie Parkes of the Green Shed will hand over to St Vincent de Paul Society on 30 May this year.

St Vincent de Paul Society Canberra/Goulburn Director of Commercial Operations Lindsay Rae said Vinnies was delighted to be selected as the preferred supplier for Canberra’s reusable facilities.

Mr Rae said Vinnies was delighted to have been selected as the preferred supplier for the reusable facilities through a competitive and thorough tender process.

“As the largest charitable recycler in the ACT, Vinnies’ reputation for delivering high-quality reusable processing in Canberra is unmatched,” he said.

“Canberrans already trust us with their pre-loved goods through our popular retail outlets. They also know that money spent with us is used to support those in need locally in our community.”

The shopping experience offered in the facilities will not replicate Vinnies shops.

“Items that cannot be sold at Vinnies shops will be moved to Goodies Junction, who will sell them at bargain basement prices to encourage a high level of reuse,” Mr Rae said.

“Along with helping source items for local charities, Goodies Junction will help to improve the supply of furniture and household item needs of the Society’s programs in Canberra. This will have a huge impact on the thousands of people that the Society assists every year.” 

Acting Deputy Director-General, City Services, Bruce Fitzgerald said the ACT reusable facilities played an important role within the community by contributing to the circular economy and providing a safe and convenient location for the public to drop off reusable items for resale or donation.

“Some of the features of the new reusable facilities include transparent pricing of goods and more reusable items staying in circulation rather than ending up in landfill,” he said.

“Vinnies have an ambitious target of reducing items sent to landfill from their 10 Canberra shops by 10-30% over the next four years.”

Mr Fitzgerald said the community would continue to have access to much-loved features of the service such as free clothing and quality goods and furniture at bargain prices.

“Vinnies will also have a dedicated education space made available for the delivery of workshops, repair activities and structured education,” he said.

Mr Rae said both sites would continue to support local charities in new and innovative ways.

“Sixty years of experience in salvaging Canberra’s donated items for processing and reuse makes Vinnies uniquely qualified to deliver the reusable facilities services into the future,” he said.

“The experience at the facilities will continue to be one that Canberrans know and love now.”