Powered by over 80 local councils and supported by state governments, Garage Sale Trail is a ready-made waste education and behaviour change program that helps reduce household waste and get more people putting secondhand first.
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​Consisting of a ten-week education campaign and two big weekends of community-powered garage sales hosted simultaneously across the country on 8-9 & 15-16 November 2025, the program delivers triple bottom line benefits for both council partners and the community alike.  ​
"A ready-to go campaign to bring your community together and put the circular economy into practise."
- King Island Council
AS SEEN ON: 

THE WHY
Garage Sale Trail helps councils to achieve waste reduction targets and engage their community in the circular economy.
Program impacts, measured through registration data and a post-event survey, are captured in a localised impact report. Prepared by Taverner Research Group, these provide robust data on waste, community building and economic outcomes for your local area including information on the volume of items reused, carbon emission abatement, cost of living savings & more.

​Nationally in 2024 the program saw:
20.1 million
people cumulatively reached by the education campaign nationally, helping to mainstream secondhand and get more people buying and selling pre-loved.
755,261
items sold / reused, 41% of which
would otherwise have gone to landfill or been illegally dumped.
297,792
Australians involved,
generating over $3.6 million for the economy through the buying and selling of pre-loved items.
Get in touch to find out what impacts
could be generated for your community

THE HOW
Participating councils get a ready-made waste education campaign which is proven to reduce waste to landfill, connect communities and support the local economy.  

Garage Sale Trail provides all the promotional materials, supports you to generate local media, manages enquiries from residents and provides a localised report to help you measure the impacts of the program.

On average, council partners invest under two hours per week (Sept to Nov) promoting the program locally, using supplied templates and materials, often delivered by the communications team.

Annual partnership fees scale by council population and length of agreement. For small councils this is from $2,000 to $4,000 and for large councils from $6,000 to $10,500.
Garage Sale Trail happens each year in partnership with over 80 local councils, waste groups and state government partners.

The program works for metropolitan and regional councils of all shapes and sizes. In 2024, 92% of council partners said they would recommend the program to other councils.

"Fantastic initiative, not only for community to be involved in making some money or shopping secondhand, but to learn about where to take items when no longer needed"
- ACT Government

"It's easy to use, there are more than enough resources that make it easy for councils, and Garage Sale Trail is full of innovators working to make it better each year!
​- Snowy Valleys Council, NSW

"Programs such as Garage Sale Trail play a valuable role in shifting perceptions of purchasing secondhand, supporting the transition to a circular economy and enabling more effective
​reuse of unwanted items."
- Scenic Rim Regional Council, QLD​

THE ​WHO

City of Kwinana, WA
Hear from Josh at Whyalla, SA

​THE WHEN
Key timings for the 2025 program:
Date
Action
30 May

​Deadline for councils to register for the program.
Mid August
​Online briefing session to onboard officers involved in promoting the program locally.
10 September
​Registrations open to the local community and campaign launches.
September - November
Garage Sale Trail and council promotions.
8-9 & 15-16 November
Two nationwide weekends ​of garage sales.
January '26
​Localised impact report provided by Garage Sale Trail.
Like what we're putting down? Want to know more?
Book in time to chat about the program.