Arthur Buckland – Workshop Manager, furniture restorer and upcycler at Waiuku Community Recycling Centre
“There’s so much timber and furniture left here by the public, a lot of which can easily be repaired or upcycled.”
How did you end up working in waste?
I’m an antique furniture restorer by trade so I’m at home here among all the timber and furniture that comes in. I restore furniture or build new pieces from salvaged timber. I’m happy to turn my hand to everything from a 150 year old piece of furniture up to modern imports – I prefer not to work with the imports though as they don’t last very long!
What’s surprised you the most?
That there’s so much timber and furniture left here by the public, a lot of which can easily be repaired or upcycled.
What’s been the most rewarding aspect?
We have a stock of recycled timber that we can use to repair or refurbish older types of furniture. We can provide that service because we’re running a great recycling centre here. We are keen to run classes teaching people to repair their own furniture in the future.
What’s the one thing you wish people know about waste?
We get a lot of people bringing stuff here when they move or clean out houses of relatives. All those things have memories. It’s good they don’t just go to landfill.
Waiuku Community Recycling Centre aims to reduce waste to landfill as much as possible by repurposing, recycling and reusing material. The ‘Waiuku Junktion’ shop is open 8am to 4pm from Thursday to Sunday – come and discover a bargain!
Full details of Community Recycling Centres across the Auckland region are available on the council website.
Auckland Council funds and is establishing a network of community recycling centres which divert material from landfill. This re-using of items and re-purposing of materials also benefits the local community through affordable items and job creation. Council is aiming to build a network of 12 centres across the district to contribute to the goal of zero waste Auckland by 2040.
