2nd hand goods
Monday morning in Wellington’s Cuba Street smells of stale beer and wet wool. It’s not a pleasant combination but it’s what happens when you’re sandwiched between a bar and boxes of clothes left on the footpath.
Alana Moran (not her real name) has smelt it all before: often the charity shop employee’s first task of the day is to pick up the assorted clothing, books and appliances dumped by people who can’t be bothered taking them to the tip.
“People do a clear out over the weekend and leave crap on our doorstep,” says Alana, who admits sharing isn’t always caring. “We’ve had soiled mattresses, broken appliances, ripped clothing, even dirty nappies!”
While few of the second-hand stores contacted for this article were keen to reveal how much it cost them to clean up other people’s mess, Alana estimates her store has spent around $10,000 in the last year sending unsellable items to the landfill.
