Why Catherine furnished half her home with other people's throwaways

Catherine Krestyn's furnishings embrace the lived-in and eclectic look she loves, characterised by a variety of textures, colours and vintage pieces.

It just so happens more than half of it comes from hard rubbish.

The chairs, doors, lamps, ceramics — even cushions — have been collected from nature strips in her area.

And it's a way of life she's sharing with her community in the hope of making a difference.

She helms the 6,000-strong Facebook group called Boroondara Hard Rubbish Rehome, where members upload pictures of their hard rubbish piles for eager locals to find.

"We're trying to change the conversation through our group around what is waste and what are resources," she says.

Catherine started the group in 2022 with her childhood friend Jennie Irving.

The pair used to look through hard rubbish piles as kids, and they never let go of the hobby.

"It's kind of in our DNA."

Building a community of hard rubbish collectors

Catherine and Jennie realised last year they wanted to build a community of thrifters in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne where they lived, which is how their social media group began.

"It's such a fabulous way to contribute to the circular economy to keep things in use," Catherine says.

All members do is upload photos of their hard rubbish piles and detail the area to find them, while maintaining the privacy of members.

"We never share street numbers. For example, people just give the name of a straight suburb, or maybe a local landmark, and people manage to find hard rubbish piles that way."

The pair practice what they preach — Catherine estimates that she and Jennie have stopped more than 7,000 kg of hard rubbish going to landfill since they founded the group.

Some items are ready as they are, like chairs and lamps, and others take a bit of handiwork to clean up, like the old, wooden doors installed in her shed.

And while some may gawk at her decision to take cushions from hard rubbish, Catherine says they were practically as good as new.

"If you've actually got items that are at the end of their life, they can be hard to move on," she says.

"But when you see things like this [cushion] on hard rubbish, you can simply whip off the covers, give them a wash and they're fresh and ready to use."

Local teacher Ruth Polgar discovered the group while scrolling on Facebook and has since decorated her classroom with second-hand items, including artwork she has rehomed from a neighbour.

"We regularly take unneeded items from the group and use them for art and school projects," she says.

Giving once-loved possessions a second life

Running the group can get overwhelming for Catherine, whose partner Jaan is also involved.

"We are 24/7 dealing with hard rubbish and it can make you feel depressed," she says.

But she doesn't resent those who have to let go of their possessions because of stressful circumstances.

"If you're downsizing or if you're clearing a deceased estate, quite often you're desperate for access to easy options," she says.

"Hard rubbish piles are often that option."

All Catherine wants to do is give her community a way to reduce their waste, and to send a message to those in charge that things need to urgently change.

"The federal government has big targets around circular economy action leading into 2030. We want to start ramping that up even sooner," she says.

"With our group, we have lovely momentum and people are telling institutional actors that we want change."

While it will take bigger policy shifts to make a societal difference, Catherine says any effort helps.

"We're drowning in our own waste really, so anything that we can all do on a practical level [helps] — make lifestyle choices, be prepared to go second-hand," she says.