Reuse Products

We live in an increasingly throw away society. Through buying quality products and caring for them through a long life, buying second hand to give something another life, or upcycling what you have into another use, you’re able to reuse valuable products.

Invest in reusable products

Buy quality reusable products. Make an investment and it will last you much much longer, saving you money over the lifetime of the item. Goods you can purchase as alternatives to single use items include durable stainless steel pegs, lunchboxes, water bottles, and straws, and coffee mugs, beeswax wraps, silicone container covers and baking sheets, and many more.

Local stockists of reusable items:

• Arthaus - New Plymouth

• @cquisitions - New Plymouth 

• Boomerang Bags Taranaki Enviroschools

• Essence of Style - New Plymouth

• Kina NZ Design + Artspace - New Plymouth

• Len Lye Centre shop - New Plymouth

• Maple and Wild, 83 Regent Street, Hāwera

• Peta M Gifts - Hāwera

• Puke Ariki - New Plymouth

• Steven’s - New Plymouth

• This + That - Hāwera.

• Waitara Floral Studio + Gifts - Waitara.

See the Zero Waste in Taranaki Guide by The Rubbish Trip for more information. If you can’t find it locally try:

• Green Elephant

• Intentionally Sustainable

Buy secondhand

Buying second hand can greatly reduce the consumption of new materials - and who doesn’t love hunting for a bargain! Head down to your nearest secondhand shop, where you will find all sorts of products that are still in great working order because they were built to last, or haven’t been used for long by others.

Other places for second hand materials include those in our second hand building materials guide, second hand markets, antique shops and online marketplaces:

• Kids Market – New Plymouth. A monthly market held at Highlands Intermediate for second hand kids clothing and toys.

• Facebook buy & sell pages for you area

• Neighbourly

• New Plymouth Freecycle - a website and email digest offering free items.

Get it fixed or repaired

There is no need to throw away repairable items. Support your local repair shops and give your existing products a longer life:

New Plymouth:

• Kingsroy Electric

• Mason Appliances

• Surf City Appliance Repairs

• The Mad Irish Cobbler

• Trident Electronics

• Wayne Jury Appliance Repairs

Upcycle

Upcycling is the process of converting old or discarded materials into something useful and new. Thisis a great way to re-purpose what you have, or what others throw away. For inspiration on just about anything try searching on pinterest for ideas on all things upcycled.

There are some great local furniture upcyclers and restorers, including:

• Red Couch

Also check out the great work in schools by Upcycle Taranaki.

If you know of other stockists/retailers/suppliers/services or all round fantastic sustainable sources please let us know so that we can include them here.