Started by a couple of locals in 1997, it became part of Wellington City Council’s tip operations after a couple of years where it was originally run by two staff but has expanded to a team of 20 today.
Over a quarter of a century the shop has sold countless weird and wonderful items including a wicker coffin, a Helen Clark portrait on a plywood sheet recovered from the landfill and auctioned for charity, and over 5,000 working laptops.
More than 500 cars pass through the drop-off area on a busy weekend, the shop has stocked over 2000 TVs for recycling this year alone, and the team has supplied household items for 22 refugee background families.
The Tip Shop has its own Instagram and Facebook accounts and reaches a wide audience through Trade Me. The Trade Me site focuses on electronics and quirky, often vintage, items, one of which was a pair of 18th century…
