The announcement this week of the closing of Wastebusters in Alexandra was both a surprise and a disappointment to me, as I regularly drop items off and have a mooch around. 

I even found a Verlaines CD I didn’t have on my last visit which goes to show you just never know what treasure there is to be found.

As with when any business closes, my first thoughts are to those most affected, being the great folk who work there.

I have had some people suggest that council should “do something”, ranging from propping the business up to taking it over. 

While I recognise that Wastebusters is a much-loved institution in Alexandra, council would need to be extremely cautious about getting involved as directly as that with a business that is closing because it is financially unsustainable, according to its operators. 

That doesn’t mean that council doesn’t have a role to play, and that role at present is to look at opportunities to continue Wastebusters’ involvement in the community providing education and waste minimisation initiatives. 

Council is also interested in talking to community groups who might want to re-establish a reuse shop at the Boundary Road site.

Read more: Shock Wastebusters announcement: Closure of Alexandra reuse shop and recycling services