Washing machineGrade B
CAC-0001
Simpson EZI Set 850
Top loader · 8.5 kg
8.5 kg top loader, new drain pump, tested and tagged
- Concession
- $160
- Retail
- $340
Tested to AS/NZS 3760 · 6-month warranty
Circular economy · Household equity · Vocational pathways
Turning discarded appliances into community equity.
A social enterprise that intercepts washing machines and dryers before landfill, restores them to certified safety standards, and delivers them to low-income households at a fair price — while creating supported trade-training pathways for community members locked out of the workforce.
Waste diverted
0.6tonnes
Mass intercepted before compaction
Units restored
5
Tested and tagged to AS/NZS 3760
Households supplied
3
Concession and referral households
Supervised training
40hours
Paid from Stage 2 onwards
Live figures from the operations register. Nothing here is modelled except where the method is stated.
The opportunity
Two problems usually treated separately, resolved with a single set of assets.
Circular Appliance Co. is a hybrid social enterprise founded by Mark and Hayden Della Casa Alberighi. Repairable machines are being destroyed at the same time as households cannot afford a working one.
Problem one — environmental
Repairable appliances are being destroyed
Washing machines and dryers are bulky, metal-rich and highly repairable, yet a large share reach transfer stations and are compacted before anyone assesses them. Disposal is the default because triage and certified repair capacity does not exist locally.
Each machine crushed represents embodied carbon, recoverable steel and copper, and a working asset destroyed years before end of life.
Problem two — social & economic
Laundry access is a poverty trap
A new washing machine is a significant upfront cost for a household on a concession income. The alternatives are worse: rent-to-own arrangements that cost multiples of retail over the term, or untested second-hand units with no warranty and no safety certification.
Clean clothing underpins school attendance, job interviews, health and dignity. It is not discretionary.
The solution
One workshop, three outputs.
- 1
Intercept
Collect appliances from councils, retailers and households before compaction
- 2
Restore
Triage, repair and electrically safety-test to AS/NZS 3760 under trade supervision
- 3
Redistribute
Sell or lease at tiered, transparent prices with a real warranty
- 4
Reinvest
Commercial margin funds concession pricing and paid trainee wages
Waste diverted
Every repairable unit intercepted is tonnage removed from the municipal waste stream and embodied carbon retained in use.
Households served
Certified, warrantied appliances at concession prices, with no credit check and no compounding interest.
People employed
The repair bench doubles as a training floor — supervised, paid, and linked to accredited qualifications.
Available now
Restored, certified, warrantied.
Every unit is electrically tested and tagged to AS/NZS 3760, signed off by a licensed supervisor, and backed by a six-month warranty with delivery and installation available.
Washing machineGrade A
CAC-0002
LG WD-1409
Front loader · 7 kg
7 kg front loader, new door seal, near new cosmetically
- Concession
- $190
- Retail
- $410
Tested to AS/NZS 3760 · 6-month warranty
DryerGrade B
CAC-0003
Fisher & Paykel DE4560
Vented · 4.5 kg
4.5 kg vented dryer, lint path cleared, new filter
- Concession
- $130
- Retail
- $280
Tested to AS/NZS 3760 · 6-month warranty
vs. rent-to-own
Total cost is disclosed upfront and does not compound. No credit check, no default cascade, and the household owns the machine at the end.
vs. marketplace second-hand
Electrically tested, tagged and warrantied, with delivery and installation included — rather than untested, uncollected and unsupported.
vs. buying new
A fraction of the upfront cost for a machine that is safety-certified and backed for six months, available immediately.
Transparent pricing
Published prices, disclosed upfront, never compounding.
Retail and commercial sales are priced at market and generate the margin that funds concession pricing. That is the cross-subsidy engine, and it is why affordability does not depend on the next grant round.
Tier 1 · Access
Concession
$120–$220
Concession and health care card holders, pensioners, referred and crisis households. Cost recovery only — no commercial margin. Six-month warranty, free or discounted delivery and installation.
No credit check · no compounding interest
Tier 2 · Margin
Standard retail
$280–$450
General public, students and budget-conscious buyers, priced at the going second-hand market rate. This is the primary margin stream, and it is what funds Tier 1.
Every retail unit funds a concession unit
Tier 3 · Commercial
Commercial B2B
Contracted rates
Social housing, crisis accommodation and student housing. Scheduled maintenance, priority replacement and fleet reporting — faster tenancy fit-out at contracted prices.
Bulk supply · maintenance cover
All pricing, cost and margin figures shown are indicative planning assumptions developed for modelling purposes. They are to be validated and replaced with observed data during the 50-unit supply pilot before being used in any binding commercial or grant commitment.
The commercial case
Why this model holds together commercially
The enterprise does not depend on perpetual grant funding to serve low-income customers. Retail and commercial B2B sales are priced at market and generate the margin that funds concession pricing. Fee-for-service collection offsets logistics. Scrap and salvage monetises the units that cannot be saved. Grant capital is sought for setup and capability — workshop, testing equipment, vehicle, initial wage subsidy — not for ongoing operating subsidy.
Two arrows form a continuous loop — the circular economy — enclosing a machine drum with three rotating vanes. Read from the outside in, it is a lifecycle; read from the inside out, it is a working appliance.
The gap between the arrows is deliberate
The loop is only closed when someone does the work of closing it.
“We are not asking funders to subsidise a service forever. We are asking them to fund the workshop that makes the service pay for itself.”
Get involved
Divert waste. Restore value. Empower community.
Circular Appliance Co. is seeking founding supply, distribution and capability partners. If you manage a waste stream, a housing portfolio, a training pathway or a funding program, there is a version of this partnership that costs you less than what you are doing now.