From kerb to counter: Hard rubbish ‘heroes’ open a shop

The word “love” looms large on the wall of the Darebin Hard Rubbish Heroes’ reLOVE pop-up shop in Melbourne’s inner north.

The stencil was left by a previous occupant, but staff say it gels with the Thornbury shop’s vibe perfectly.

Here, shoppers will find hundreds of pre-loved items for sale, from 1950s typewriters to coffee machines, toys and backpacks, much of which volunteers have “picked” from hard rubbish on local nature strips. Other items have been donated.

The shop, which opened as a two-month pilot on June 4, has re-homed more than 4000 items weighing a combined two tonnes. It is staffed by 40 volunteers.

In the past, picking from hard rubbish has been illegal but the City of Darebin told co-founder Jo Press that “residents who safely collect reusable items for reuse or repair and leave the piles in a tidy manner will not be fined by the council”.

They love it: (left to right) Julie O’Brien from Span community house and reLOVE Pop-up Shop founders Jo Press and Jackie Lewis.Credit:Scott McNaughton

Press, a Northcote graphic designer, started the Facebook page Darebin Hard Rubbish Heroes in 2019 with another local, Jackie Lewis.

Press said she had been “shocked and saddened” to see a hard rubbish collection truck crushing some of the household items it plucked from nature strips on a Northcote street.

She had thought more of our hard rubbish was sorted and recycled or rehomed. “Some of it I saw that day was real rubbish but there was some good stuff: furniture, antiques, collectibles, new items,” she said.

The Facebook page, which now has 14,000 members, allows people to offer and request free pre-loved household goods, to give items more of a chance to be re-homed.

Darebin Hard Rubbish Heroes volunteers pick up a coffee table left out for hard rubbish on a Reservoir nature strip, to sell in the shop.

The shop is the next stage of the Heroes’ mission. Press said it was a not-for-profit venture and prices were kept low. Sales covered rent, utilities and insurance.

Items for sale when The Age visited this week included a vintage telephone table for $4, an old Kenwood mincer for $10, an electric hot roller set for $5 and board games, wine racks and gum boots.

Designer items have included a Jimmy Choo tote bag and Burberry handbag for $8 each.

The shop has tubs for donations of goods and a rummage room where miscellaneous items are free.

The reLOVE pop-up shop on High Street in Thornbury.Credit:Scott McNaughton

For $19, customer Marj Hannah, 80, of Thornbury, bought a toy golf club set, a mini football and a toy fire truck for her grandson, Braeden, 3, as well as several ceramic mugs for herself.

“I love it,” she said. “There are lots of things to choose from. And it’s all nice.”

Volunteer Anushia Manoharan, 50, keeps an eye out for 1950s homewares for her caravan.

Volunteer Janice Mochrie, 66, said a favourite find was two hot-pink showgirl feather fans. Mochrie did a burlesque routine in the shop, “in clothing, mind you”. The fans sold for $4.

A City of Darebin spokesperson said: “The reLOVE pop-up shop is a wonderful example of community-led action for a circular economy.”

They said while the council was not funding the shop, “we have supported the pop-up by promoting it through our various networks and communications”.

The spokesperson said items that could not be recycled – and therefore went to landfills – comprised less than 15 per cent of the total collected under the council-run hard rubbish program.

“Council encourages residents to sort their items into separate piles and asks people, if they are picking items up from kerbsides, not to move objects between piles.”

The reLOVE shop’s last day is July 31 but Press said the Heroes were planning a second pop-up leading up to Christmas. Their dream is to open a permanent shop with paid staff.

Press said larger premises would enable them to stock goods such as furniture that were too big for the current shop and to run workshops on repair and renewal of pieces.

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