Add Category
A group of mostly retired farmers on Western Australia's south coast have created a medical equipment library for their community funded by proceeds from a recycling program.
Hopetoun Men in Sheds has been running a Containers for Change program in the seaside town, 550km south-east of Perth, for about three and a half years.
Community members can exchange cans and bottles for 10 cents each, and the Men's Shed takes a few cents a container for operating the exchange point.
And while the closure of a nickel mine in Ravensthorpe is expected to reduce the volume of containers through the collection point, it won't be by a huge amount.
The proceeds keep the shed ticking over, and they have also donated more than $100,000 to community groups.
President Darryl Quinn said a small group of volunteers work through cans and bottles every Saturday.
"It varies between 10,000 to our best day [which] was 22,000," he said.
"I don’t know how many cubic meters we have saved going into the tip."
The local pub and mine collect the containers, as do members of the public who come from as far as Munglinup, Jerramungup and Newdegate.
"There's a guy coming in with six wool packs. He's just finished seeding, and he's had a troop of guys out there. We get that all the time," Mr Quinn said.
Hopetoun, which had a population of 1,100 in the 2021 census, is a popular retirement town for the region, but residents often travel to Albany, Esperance or Ravensthorpe for healthcare.
Peter MacMahon, a Hopetoun Men’s Shed member, said he and his wife picked up a friend who had a broken ankle from Albany and brought her home.
"When we got back to Hopetoun, she asked for a commode chair and a shower chair," MacMahon said.
"We rang Ravensthorpe hospital and were told that we could get one from up there — another 100 kilometres travelling — if we could find the gardener with the key in his pocket."
That was the beginning of the idea for the equipment library.
"I went to the committee of the Men's Shed and suggested that we buy about half a dozen articles of basic equipment, which they agreed to," Mr MacMahon said.
"We've got over 50 items in there now, and when people want to use it, they just come and get it, use it, bring it back when they're finished."
Many items have been donated, including crutches, wheelchairs, and even a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine to treat sleep apnoea, which can cost thousands of dollars.
"Things just snowballed," Mr MacMahon said.
"Think of a good idea, and if it can help the community in any way, well, why not?
"We're here to support the community, help the community, and it's gone very well."
While the Men's Shed has had great success supporting community groups and initiatives, Mr Quinn said it had been difficult for their small group of regular volunteers.
"We're battling, four to six people is adequate, but we really do need some more numbers," he said.
"We've got a lady in here, Patty. She does a wonderful job. We're open to anybody. You'd be welcome with open arms."