Graham Clark, Salvage Shed committee member, with Themba Ncomanzi, solid waste officer, CHB District Council, sitting on salvaged seating surrounded by salvaged decor. Photo / Rachel Wise
Themba Ncomanzi is the solid waste officer for the Central Hawkes Bay District Council, and Graham Clark is one of the committee members of the Salvage Workshop, a recycling space set up in conjunction with the council, with funding from the Ministry for the Environment.
The recycling ethic for this project is so strong that even the building is re-used. It used to be the tote for the racecourse.
Now, it’s been rewired and refurbished with walls and cubicles and a kitchen and communal space. All - except the wiring - created with salvaged materials from, where else, the landfill.
Themba and Rob Hon, the council’s environmental waste manager, have a firm focus on recycling. They were aware of public bemoaning the fact that the koha “dump shop” had closed but Themba says it was a health and safety issue.
Even the signage is salvaged. Photo / Rachel Wise
“There was too much traffic to have people on foot in that space, walking across the exit-way carrying things. We had to find another way to salvage items.”
Themba says every so often he had “seen a gentleman rummaging at the transfer station”.
“I asked him what he was doing and he said, ‘Picking stuff up and repurposing it. I make things.’
That person was Graham Clark, and he invited Themba to his house to see what he did.
Graham says, “Sixty-per-cent of my house is built from materials from the transfer station. The other 40% is other forms of salvage.”
An artful sofa, heart-rimu coffee table and an entertainment unit made from a chest of drawers, some timber and bunk bed ladders, all rescued from the landfill. Photo / Rachel Wise
Discussions followed.
“We spoke about a repair cafe, then thought we could take it one step further,” Themba says.
“What if we got together like-minded people, gave them a facility, and encouraged them to do what they enjoy doing?”
A meeting was called, a committee formed, and the Salvage Workshop duly named.
At the workshop there are nine individual work spaces, which have been made available to creatives and artisans who work with salvaged materials.
The fire extinguisher is new ... Graham Clark and Themba Ncomanzi in the newly opened Salvage Workshop. Photo / Rachel Wise
Five of the spaces have been snapped up already: Graham designs furniture using salvaged items, Tenille Watt creates artwork from recycled timber, Lisa Watson designs home decor with fabric and timber, Bronwyn makes garden art, and pet beds from salvaged fabrics, while Holly Clark repurposes waste fabric any way possible.
While each person has their own workspace, there are some communal tools and a collegial atmosphere.
Graham says, “The artisans can sell whatever they make, or take commissions, to help pay the rent on their space. Hopefully that will cover their costs and the facility will start to pay for itself.”
The Salvage Workshop will also become a centre for people to purchase recycled raw materials - corrugated iron, fencing materials, a bit of timber for a project, old doors and windows.
Tenille Watt’s workspace is filled with the artwork she creates from recycled timber. Photo / Rachel Wise
The communal area at the workshop will allow the artisans to share their skills, holding workshops for the public.
Themba says there is no excuse, in Central Hawke’s Bay, to not recycle.
“If one person puts one bottle in the rubbish bin, they might think ‘Hey, it’s just one, it doesn’t matter’. But our population in CHB is over 15,000 people. If a third of them have that mentality, that’s 5000 bottles a week going to landfill.
“Our council promotes recycling, we want to educate people, and the Salvage Workshop is an example of what we can do. We started with a shell of a building and now it’s not only a functioning facility, but it’s also fully furnished, and 90% of that is ‘from the dump’. How neat is that? If a small team can achieve that, how much more can we save?”
Themba displays garden art made from cans, and dog beds from salvaged fabric. Photo / Rachel Wise
Graham says a lot of racecourse history has been recycled into the building; signage, doors from the jockey’s lockers, pieces of history.
“If you recycle something you keep its history. Anything that’s been around for a while has a story.”
Graham says even if people aren’t keen to create or to re-use items themselves, they owe it to the community to be mindful of what they dispose of, and where.
Even the old wiring from the building was recycled, into colourful lettering. Photo / Rachel Wise
“There are multiple op shops, there is the Menz Shed for items that can be repaired.
“I stopped someone from throwing a functioning microwave into the transfer station recently. They just didn’t want it any more. I asked if they had thought to donate it to the Hospice Shop, to raise funds for people needing care, but they said they didn’t have time.
“I have to hope that other people make the time to donate or repurpose items, rather than throw them away.
“This is a mindset we have to change. Things have become cheap, but we can’t afford to rubbish our district - and our planet.”
The Salvage Workshop is still open to applications for the last four work spaces. Please contact Themba at the CHB District Council, phone (06) 857 8060, or email salvageworkshop@xtra.co.nz
