How one Wagga Facebook group is filling a gap in the market for those in need

One Wagga woman's hunt for connection during lockdown has grown into an entire community enterprise.

Feeling isolated during the 2020 lockdown, Lake Albert resident Katura Weston was looking for a way to connect with her friends.

With young children and more free time that she knew what to do with, Mrs Weston sorted through cupboards and drawers, finding an abundance of things she no longer needed.

Scrolling through her social media feeds, she stumbled across an American movement, Buy Nothing.

Katura Weston started the Buy Nothing Wagga Wagga group, which is dedicated to reducing waste and creating a circular economy. Picture by Bernard Humphreys

"I watched a video on it, went on their website, went through it, and I was like, 'oh, I've got nothing else to do,' so I started the Facebook group," Mrs Weston said.

"I really liked the idea of it, like reduce, reuse, and recycle because we just have too many things. I also like the community aspect, which they seem to push quite a lot.

"Facebook's all just like 'buy, swap, sell' but it's really just sell, so I love the 'gift, ask, gratitude' catchphrase."

Since its first opening, the group has grown to include more than 3000 members from suburbs across Wagga and the Riverina.

Posts appear daily from people looking to give away everything from storage items to baby goods and, recently, a wedding dress.

There are no restrictions on what can be given away, just that it is free.

Mrs Weston said the group fills a unique space in reducing waste, giving users somewhere to list items that maybe could not be donated or sold but have more life.

Tutoring cards, leftover bean bag filling, a ceiling fan, and unopened baby formula are among the wide range of items she's seen go through the page.

While waiting for her things to arrive in Wagga, Janie Cronje started using the Buy Nothing group and op shops.

Moving from South Africa, while waiting for the container with her household goods to arrive, secondhand was the most economical way to access necessities.

Though her belongings have arrived now, Miss Cronje continues to enjoy finding secondhand treasures.

"Since then, I was like, 'Oh, I actually enjoy op shopping," Miss Cronje said.

"As a teenager, I was like, op shops are gross, and then someone was like, no, they're actually quite like treasure troves."

Being a conscious consumer is important to the 23-year-old who tries not to take more than she needs.

Katura Weston with some items that she plans to list on Buy Nothing Wagga Wagga, including toys and clothing. Picture by Bernard Humphreys

Part of that process is deciding if she will really use an item before offering to take it on the Buy Nothing page or checking out at the op shop.

Though she often self-eliminates from Buy Nothing posts for this reason, she enjoys watching as the community builds on the page.

"There is such a huge range of stuff on there, anything you need basically," Miss Cronje said.

"Sometimes people put food up which I like is very sweet, they say 'oh, I bought this, it's closed still', and sometimes there is baby food which I think could be helpful for parents struggling, it's very community focused."

Daisy Tenhave has been an avid op shopper since she was a teenager when her family began using the stores out of necessity.

She said the increase in popularity of op shopping has changed the market significantly, namely an increase in prices.

Miss Tenhave hopes that shoppers are conscious of over-consuming when at the stores and said Buy Nothing groups are incredibly important for people now priced out of traditional op shops.

"People are op shopping for different reasons and I think it's very good to actually take advantage of what there already is, instead of making new stuff, but it is a little bit interesting because once upon time, you could go and you could get a shirt for like a dollar or two dollars," Miss Tenhave said.

"There was just that kindness to those coming to the op shop that didn't necessarily have a lot of money, but they're there because they still need nice clothes and they can't afford to spend $180 on a nice pair of pants.

"I find now you go to an op shop and a really boring shirt could be like eight dollars and you think 'I saw that in Kmart and it was eight dollars brand new', and that's not good."

Mrs Weston said additionally the group helps keep items moving, rather than sitting in car boots or being dumped illegally.

"We all know you put something in your boot to take to an op shop, it's not the next day it's at the op shop, you've got that thing in there for a good couple of weeks," Mrs Weston said.