Planet Ark’s theme for this year’s National Recycling Week is What Goes Around: Why Buying Recycled Matters making Buy It Back Day a natural extension of the event. Secondhand stores are a great option for sustainable shopping, with over 2,400 charitable op shopsi countrywide for consumers to choose from.

Consumers who want to find their closest Buy It Back venue should visit RecyclingWeek.PlanetArk.org.

Planet Ark’s Recycling Programs Manager Ryan Collins says it’s easy to get involved.

“We want anyone who lives near an op shop, tip shop or vintage store to take advantage of Buy It Back Day. It’s as simple as taking a photo of a great find or bringing in your pre-loved fashion and furniture. For secondhand stores, it’s a great way to meet their local communities and promote their positive environmental impacts as Australia’s oldest recycling businesses.”

Shoppers can show their support by sharing a photo of their Buy It Back Day purchases with the hashtags #BuyItBack and #NationalRecyclingWeek explaining why you made the purchase. By doing so people not only get themselves a bargain but also spread the word about the environmental benefits of buying recycled products.

Those benefits including cutting back on waste that would otherwise sit in landfill as well as the emissions needed to transport it. Buying recycled also reduces the consumption of non-renewable resources needed to make and ship new products. For secondhand businesses, they have more funds to invest in the shop or support charitable work in their local communities.

Op shops receive over 250,000 tonnesii of unusable items that have to be shipped, often at charities’ expense, to landfill every year. Consumers can help reduce that waste by only donating usable items in good condition. If in doubt, ask someone at the store what they can and can’t take before making a donation.

Gumtree’s 2017 report into the secondhand economyiii backs this up after finding that a surprising 91% of Australians have unwanted items at home, and that 86% preferred to buy secondhand products. The 3 main reasons given were to save money, find something unique and to help reduce waste.

For products made from recycled materials, simply search our Recycled Products Directory.