an environmental charity committed to reducing landfill

We pioneer programs to reduce the amount of waste entering landfill by reclaiming household items for reuse, repair and resale at affordable prices and by encouraging communities to engage in repurposing of preloved goods.

COLLECTIONS

Book a collection for your unwanted household goods, and we’ll ensure they don’t go to landfill. You can also donate in store. More

REPAIRS

Learn how to fix your broken electrical items or furniture at our free Repair Cafes, or leave it with us and we’ll fix it for you. More

WORKSHOPS

We can teach you how to restore furniture, do basic carpentry, use power tools and even build a tiny house. More

LOCATIONS

Our two shops in Marrickville and Parramatta are full of second hand bargains, plus we run The Bower Woodworks in Redfern and Banga Community Shed in Green Square. More

Important COVID-19 Updates

Please note the following important information

  • Our Marrickville store remains open from Mon-Sun (10am-5pm)to provide our vital services to all who needs them now more than ever in these difficult times. Please note that we closed our Parramatta store
  • We have been putting many more items on our online Ebay store so you can shop from home
  • Our Collection service continues, so both the online Web Booking Tool and the Reuse Database Tool are live and operating
  • Paid repair for Electronic Repairs and Woodwork Repair or manufacturing continues. To communicate with our staff about these services please email electricalrepairs@bower.org.au or woodwork@bower.org.au
  • Unfortunately all Workshops and Repair cafes have been put on hold as we couldn’t guarantee social distancing rules.

As we remain open, we are applying social distancing rules in our stores and in our office. We ask customers and staff to apply them:

  • Please clean your hands with the provided hand sanitiser when entering the store
  • Respect the marked out space on the floor to adhere to 1.5 metre social distance and the maximum of 40 visitors to adhere to the 4 sqm rule
  • We regularly clean and sanitise the desktop, register and other public surfaces within the store. We will measure your temperature at the entrance
  • Of course if you feel sick, or have flu-like symptom, or have returned from overseas recently, please stay at home.

Thank-you for your support, patronage and good-wishes during this strange and confusing time. Together we will pull-through!

Tiny House Auction

Right to Repair Petition

Read the letter we are sending to The Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, and sign our petition below!

Want to find out more? Visit the petition page

To: The Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg
From: [Your Name]

We, the undersigned call on you to:

Implement a package of measures to facilitate consumers’ rights for the repair of personal and household items, extend products life cycles, stimulate the ‘circular’ economy (repair and reuse), and reduce the amount of hard waste going to landfill.

Based on leading best practice consumer rights policies around the world, this would include:

  • Introduce mandatory schemes for manufacturers of new products to provide spare parts and repair manuals for a mandated period of time, such as has been legislated in France and is being introduced across Europe and other jurisdictions.
  • Tax breaks for repairs of personal and household items, such as has been legislated in Sweden and other jurisdictions, as a financial incentive to repair and reuse, rather than throw away and buy new.
  • Other best practice measures to boost the circular economy, lengthen product life, reduce landfill and protect the environment, such as including reusability and reparability standards in the Product Stewardship Act, as well as adding the ‘right to repair’ to the Productivity Commission’s agenda for further examination and report back.

By introducing these measures and making it easier for Australians to repair, and have repaired, their personal items, and for businesses to provide repair, reuse and associated services, you will be achieving strong social, economic (including job creation) and environmental outcomes across the country.

Please support the right of Australians to repair everything we own.

Yours sincerely,
[The undersigned]

The Bower partners with many councils in and around the Sydney area. Book a free collection from one of these council areas