Wānaka Wastebusters staff have opened three 40 foot containers of ski gear and the stock of second-hand boards, skis and boots, pre-loved pants, jackets, gloves and goggles will all be on sale this weekend at the Wastebusters Wānaka winter fair and sale.

The annual event - this is its fourth year - has become a big community event to welcome the coming of winter. 

Wastebusters Wānaka reuse team leader Mathilde Fonteneau said the Wastebusters ski sale is all about celebrating winter. 

“There’s a lot of excitement in town and at Wastebusters about the beginning of winter, often winter is what attracted people to Wānaka in the first place,” she said.

Both the quality and quantity of gear has been pretty stable over the years, she added.

“This year, we’ve had a big amount, just like other years, which has shown us that most of it comes from our own community. People are very generous, and there’s a big inflow of ski gear just before summer as the community moves on from the last winter.”

Mathilde said there are three 40-foot containers full of gear: hard gear like skis and snowboards, and soft gear like jackets and pants.

“About two thirds of what we have goes out on the first day and the rest of it is put out as we have space with the goal of getting it all out before the ski season really kicks off.”

She said a lot of families say coming to the Wastebusters sale is the only way they can afford to send their kids skiing. 

“People are always impressed with the quantity and the choice of gear that we have. Through feedback over the years, we’ve extended the winter sale to include all those other items linked to winter - like snow chains, ski bags and merino tops.”

The event will also feature music, a tasty BBQ and a few surprises to reflect the Wastebusters values of “having fun while they do good things for the planet”.

The winter fair starts this Saturday (May 7) at 9am at Wānaka Wastebusters on Ballantyne Rd.