This event is about the ‘thrill of the hunt’

One local garage sale with a twist, that has helped keep items out of the landfill, had its swan song Saturday.

For the past 12 years, the Regional Waste Reduction Office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan (RDCO) has organized a trunk sale in the parking lot of Okanagan College.

“Selling your wares from the back of your vehicle or your trunk, you have a spot for your vehicle and a spot beside you to sell your wares,” Rae Stewart, a waste reduction facilitator at RDCO told Kelowna10. “It’s really a fun, community style garage sale, but in a very condensed format, [where] we pack a lot of people in.”

Stewart said they adopted the idea from some countries in Europe, where similar sales were taking place. The goal for RDCO was to promote reuse and recycling, while giving people the chance to sell some of their items.

“Ultimately, to keep as much material out of our landfill as possible,” she explained.

Charities are also on-site after the event to take any remaining items vendors weren’t able to sell, to make sure they go to a good cause.

Around 150 vendors were selling a variety of items from their vehicles, from kitchen ware and artwork, to landscaping equipment and even toilets. People of all ages were browsing through the lot on a beautiful Saturday morning.

“It’s the feeling of community spirit and people coming together, especially with our volunteers that have been with us all along,” Stewart said. “It’s in the thrill of the find, one person’s trash is another person’s treasure.”

However, after putting on 19 events in the spring and fall over the years, Saturday was the final trunk sale for RDCO.

“We’ve recognized within our community that these events are springing up organically without us,” Stewart said. “It's really what we hoped to see all along, it was the intent of this event to not maintain it as ours, but to let it evolve in our community.”

She said now the organization will shift its focus and resources to helping with waste reduction and education through new projects and programs.

“Let’s celebrate the success of it, the ride, what we have been doing over the years, and the possibilities of what will come after this,” Stewart said.