It all started in 1999 with an idea, a shed, and a whole lot of community action. Locals rolled up their sleeves and built the first home of Wastebusters, determined to give Wānaka and Hāwea residents a better way to deal with waste and ensure our quality items weren’t headed to landfill.
By 2000, the reuse shop was buzzing, recycling was on the go, and the seeds of a community icon had been planted. From kerbside recycling runs to launching our Enviroschools and Dr Compost programmes, the infamous Unpackit Awards to saving the Alexandra Wasties hub in 2015, Wastebusters has never shied away from doing things differently.
We’ve merged, rebuilt after a fire, closed some chapters, opened new ones, and kept on leading the zero waste charge with resilience, heart and that good old Wasties magic.
Fast-forward 25 years, and the numbers speak for themselves: last year alone we delivered $3.7 million worth of waste-busting services across the district, saved 1,400 tonnes from landfill, welcomed over 133,000 customers to the shop, ran 83 workshops and events with 11,000+ people, and repaired 493 items.
All that while employing 55 locals on a living wage and still managing to keep the fun music vibes pumping. For many, being part of the Wasties community is just part of daily life – whether it’s treasure-hunting in the shop or yard, dropping off recycling, joining a workshop, or volunteering for a repair event.
But as anyone who’s visited our site lately knows, we’re literally bursting at the seams. The shed that served us so well is now a pressure cooker of people, cars, and treasures packed to the brim waiting for new homes.
The next chapter? Wastebusters 2.0.
We are planning a bigger, better site with space for everything our community needs: A construction and demolition hub where building materials are saved from landfill and locals can buy affordable supplies. A dedicated education space where we can run our events and workshops, and where other organisations can also make use of the facilities. An onsite repair space will allow us to keep giving broken treasures a new life and share practical repair skills. There will be more space for your favourite Wasties treasure hunting, from clothing to homeware and secondhand finds. Shoppers will enjoy a safe, car free area while they browse, and imagine this… more toilets.
Wastebusters has always been a community hub – a place where people come together to share resources, collaborate, and spark action. Wastebusters 2.0 will build on that foundation, giving our community more space and more tools to work towards a zero waste future.
The quirky Wasties soul will always stay – as one visitor put it, “Wastebusters is like three different dance parties all trying to break out of a workplace” – but the space will finally match the mahi.
With council support, funders, and our community behind us, we can make sure Wasties is ready for the next 25 years of resilience, heart and that good old Wasties magic.
