Take your imagination for a walk and put industrial discards to creative reuse. This is the philosophy behind Reverse Garbage, the most amazing shop in Brisbane, Australia. This shop alone is a good enough reason for me to leave the peacefulness of country life and visit the bustling city. It is a must visit spot for me, whenever I am in Brisbane.
This innovative shop is operated as a not-for-profit worker run co-op. It promotes environmental sustainability and resource reuse. Instead of heading straight to landfill, high quality industrial discards are collected here and sold to the public at a low cost. The range is constantly changing and diverse. Items are priced individually and also sold by the kilogram or bag full, depending on the material.
Waste is something we do, not something that is.
Buy only what you will use
A visit to this shop is never a quick trip. There is oodles of stuff to rummage through. If you are a creative making hoarder like me, the trick is to only buy what you already can envisage a use for. Otherwise you will come home with a car full of useful looking bits and bobs that you may never actually use (and could eventually get thrown out in a spring clean). This defeats the point. The idea is to divert material from the rubbish tip.
So get creative, inventive and buy stuff you can reuse. Think outside the box!
If you are not particularly crafty, but love the idea of repurposing junk, check out the handmade emporium inside the shop. This space has a gorgeous collection of work by local artisans who salvage, reuse and up-cycle materials in their designs. The clever ideas are inspiring. Plus if you buy from the emporium, you are supporting sustainable ethical shopping and local makers. Power to the consumer!
The premise behind Reverse Garbage is wonderful. The world needs more places like this!
Until next time
xx Isabella
I'm not a big "re-steemer" yet, but I did for this post. I look forward to seeing what you've made from the finds from Reverse Garbage :)
Thanks @vegascomic - I will be sure to post up some creations when they are finished! I did find some wonderful pieces here.
Any time we avoid the trash can, we are doing this world a service. Good post, interesting. You've earned a new follower.
Thanks for stopping by @nonameslefttouse
looks like some good finds in there
Our local "tip" (landfill) has a recycling centre but nothing like this scale. This is wonderful.
It is a gold mine for the creative maker! Our tip shop here is also pretty good and I have found some awesome items there but Reverse Garbage seems to collect such interesting and useful looking industrial discards on such an epic scale.
There are some cases where cities are more sustainable than rural living. Efficient reuse and recycling are good examples, like your Reverse Garbage store.
I really like that entry gate in the second photo, and would get excited about those coffee sacks! : )
Me too! It was not until I got home and was looking at the photos I took that I realised those bright coloured walls in the entry are actually free standing walls that are for sale! They would not fit in my car anyway but they look great. I snapped up a bunch of coffee sacks with a really bright red and black bold print.
Maybe we will see what you did with those coffee sacks! : )
What a great idea! I wish we had one here.
we have a few crappy ones here
Hi again Isabella. I just mentioned you in my last post :)