By Violet Li
Vinnies Cranbourne has officially opened the first electronics sections in Victoria, as part of its state-wide Green Sparks program.
The section is housed separately as part of the shop, offering a large variety of electronic items, from cables to headphones, juicers to bar fridges, fans, light project, lamps, pie makers and vacuum cleaners.
Assistant manager Anthony Hanna said after people came in and donated the items, he and three volunteers would test and tag everything to ensure the safety before the re-sale.
He said the store opened last month and it had been very productive.
“We sold 419 pieces in September, raising revenue of $4615, an average of $11 per case,” he said.
“The revenue that we raised and all the money make for the Vinnies stores goes back into the community.”
Mr Hanna said the purpose of this program was and always would be to help the community in a more vulnerable and less fortunate area.
He recalled that the staff found a very high demand for the electronic items in the area, which drove the expansion of the store.
“Every day there’s different people and sometimes they come for radio, sometimes they come for BHS players, CD players, kettle toasters, and sandwich makers.
“So then we’ve expanded the variety in the range and we’ve got monitors and TVs.
“We’re looking to upgrade the technology, any of the new technology stuff.”
Launched in June 2022, Green Sparks is a Victoria-wide Vinnies volunteer-run recycling program to give quality electrical goods a second lease on life, reducing landfills and educating and engaging Vinnies’ customers and the general public to manage their e-waste better.
According to the UN, Australia is the world’s fifth top producers of e-waste with 511,000 tonnes and 27.1 kilograms of waste per person reported in 2019.
Vinnies Victoria’s executive general manager commercial services Jeff Antcliff said Greens Sparks was introduced after a policy change from the Victorian government, aiming to take eWaste out of landfill.
“We worked closely with the Victorian Government and Sustainability Victoria to receive a grant of just around $250,000,” he said.
“It enabled Vinnies shops across the state to embark on the Green Sparks program.”
Since its inception, Vinnies Green Sparks program has trained over 200 volunteers to be qualified to test and tag an electronic item, making it safe to be sold.
Mr Antcliff said in the past year alone, volunteers had diverted a staggering 120,000 electrical items from landfill, turning them into reusable items.
“That’s thousands of kilos of items saved from e-waste, making us the largest electrical appliance reuse organization in Australia,” he said.
“I am very proud of that.”
The program has also generated more than $1.5 million in revenue funding for the St Vincent de Paul Society Victoria’s programs and support for Victorians experiencing disadvantage across the state.
The Vinnies Green Sparks program has recently been recognised as an ABA100® Winner for Marketing Excellence [MXA] in The Australian Business Awards 2023.
