Reverse Garbage is a fabulous industrial reuse centre located within the Addison Road Community Centre in Marrickville. This not-for-profit co-operative was established in 1974 and it’s been a significant part of my life for over twenty years now. Given that I worked there part-time when Small Man was in kindergarten, I’m surprised that I haven’t written a post about them before.
Most of their stock is donated clean industrial surplus that might otherwise have ended up in landfill. It changes constantly – one day you might find a barrel of arms from sunglasses, on another day, a pile of scrap fake fur, and on yet another, a box of moulds for casting silver jewellery. It’s the kind of place that you need to visit with an open mind and few expectations.
When I popped in earlier this week, there were mannequins galore…
There were also some great treasures to be had, including these UPS (Universal Power Supply) units, a donation from the NSW Police. Pete was quite chuffed when I brought a couple home, as they’re $200 – $300 new. I’m still not sure what they’re used for…
I, on the other hand, was very happy to find these John Olsen limited edition lithograph prints (they even have an embossed seal of authentication) selling for just $2 (yes, two dollars!) each. There are still a few copies left if anyone is interested – the painting is Entrance to the Siren-City of the Rat Race (1963)…
We found a cheap poster frame at the Reject Shop (there weren’t any at Reverse Garbage, sadly), and now have new wall art for very little outlay. It’s a depiction, Olsen-style, of Sydney Harbour and the colours match our dining room beautifully…
My final purchase of the visit was a cheap roll of curtain lace. There was a lot on offer and you could buy cut yardage for just $2 per metre…
I also found shoelaces in the bag area (where items are priced individually rather than in bulk) which were perfect for drawstrings (they were leftovers from World AIDS Day, hence the red ribbons). These mesh bags for fruit and vegetables were quick and easy to sew and cost me less than 20c each…
I scribbled out my pattern in case anyone would like to make their own…
It was a doddle to whip up a few extra to share with friends and neighbours…
During my time working at Reverse Garbage, I learnt one important environmental lesson – reuse is always better than recycling. Here’s what the RG website has to say about the matter:
Reuse makes sense as it: prolongs the life of a resource; saves the energy and materials needed to produce brand new materials; prevents otherwise useful resources going to waste/landfill; creates less air and water pollution than if it were recycled; and reduces money spent on new items and costs to dispose.
I think one of the dangers we face when trying to reduce our green footprint is the mistaken assumption that recycling can provide a cure-all for our excess output. Sure, it’s massively better than waste ending up in waterways or landfill, but the processes involved require a great deal of water and energy.
Places like Reverse Garbage attempt to pull clean waste out of the system before the recycling stage, making it available to the public at reasonable prices for creative reuse. It’s definitely an idea worth supporting!
PS. This website has links to reuse centres around the world (thanks Eva!) and here’s a link to Scrapstores in the UK (thanks Kim!).
. . . . .
Reverse Garbage
Addison Road Community Centre
8/142 Addison Road
Marrickville NSW 2204
02 9569 3132
9am to 5pm – Monday to Saturday
9am to 4pm – Sundays
Closed public holidays
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Thanks for this, wonderful you. I want to make a yoga mat bag for a good friend in my group and your tutorial came at the perfect time. Muwah! Maz.
I wish I owned a sewing machine now! I paid a lot for my mesh bags at an organic store and only have half as many as I need for each shop.
Many years ago, when my girls were young, they spent a lot of time with their two boy cousins under their large, old Queenslander house. Their Aunt would, for a treat, take them to the dump! The kids had a wonderful time sorting out treasures to bring back and incorporate into their imaginative games under the house where they built cities and populated landscapes with long and fabulous stories. That kind of treasure hunting is no longer allowed, but then, as the saying goes, one man’s garbage was another kid’s treasure:) Your netting bags would also be marvelous for insect/possum exclusion bags.
What an amazing place! I love car boot sales, junk shops and charity shops but we don’t have anything like this that I know of.
Look up Scrap Stores on Google. I’ve just found one locally and can’t wait to check it out!
Ooh thank you!
Thanks Kim! I’ve added a link to them in the post!
I’m planning to visit asap!
Love your creativity!
You might know Celia that farmers have always been reusers (because we’re so careful with our money). Perhaps the ultimate is our beautiful timber barn that was built in the 19th century using beams from older buildings, some of which have been dated back to the 15th century.
You could also use your mesh bags in the washing machine; pop your bras into one and stop the pesky hooks catching on everything else.
It’s a fantastic place! There is a Reverse Garbage here in Brisbane and I have found some great supplies there for art projects I’ve done with various school classes. I also picked up a whole stack of little white drawstring bags there that I embroider motifs on from time to time. I use them to send soap in or to put little bags of seeds in from my garden when I’m giving them as gifts. Meg:)
What a wonderful place. There are stores like that over here too and they are always interesting to visit. Sometimes there are so many treasures to find for a quite reasonable price. Your mesh bags look lovely. The fabric has a beautiful design to it. Thanks for the pattern. I think they would be handy for the children to put their odds and ends in when we go travelling. As well as swimwear. Very versatile bags!
As we Mainers would say, “Wowsah, that is some place!” Great deals and it’s great that the stuff is not going into a landfill. So true about reusing rather than recycling. However, with all the packing that comes with everyday purchases, it’s not always easy. But we try. We have made great strides with straws, and we usually bring our own water bottle when we go anywhere. Those produce bags are not only useful, but they are lovely as well.
Often i wish I lived in Sydney. I (Illinois) agree about recycling – here it is too expensive for the state to recycle anything other than aluminium so they send the rest to another state and basically would have to pay for it to be recycled so no-one does it. Some companies even send their metal to China to be recycled – go figure. I heard of a country or city I can not remember where – maybe it is an urban myth who knows – the rule is that the SHOP you buy the goods from are responsible for recycling the packaging materials. So you take everything back and pop it in huge bins in front of the shops. Suffice to say: packaging has taken a huge dive and self-serve with your own bags is on the rise. Sounds good to me. c
WHAT a treasure trove!! Lucky you…….woof
What a wonderful spot and doing so much good for the planet. It seems that so much of our goods are use once and toss away. the UPS things are a fantastic buy. We have a couple but they’re too heavy for me to move to vacuum around.
This place looks fantastic Celia.
What a great place! I do like a good rummage :)
OMG I would be in bargain heaven at that place.
G, apparently there is a similar place in West Perth called Remida:
http://www.remidawa.com/
Thanks, I didn’t know. I will check it out xxx
What an awesome store, I wonder if there is one like this in Toronto. We have Habitats Restore which takes only building materials, furniture and appliances. I love that you made all those mesh bags, I wonder how the grocery stores would receive them here. I will make a couple and test it out. Thanks for the inspiration.
If anyone wants to know if there is a store like this in your city, check out this website: https://www.artofrecycle.org/our_neighbors.html
Thanks Eva! I’ll add the link to the post!
This looks like an awesome resource – and reuse is absolutely better than recycling! I’ve just found something that may be similar in the UK and intend to check it out very soon 😀.
Thank you for the inspiration. I promptly went to my sewing box and made 6 mesh bags for the fruit and veg (using your pattern) and a carry bag for my friend out of the same mesh curtain material to tuck into her handbag. I have one given to me in 2008 that folds up into a tiny parcel, so useful if I find myself doing a bit of market shopping. I live on the south coast NSW so getting to that store you mentioned isn’t on my agenda but it looks so interesting. My NY resolution included getting the carry bags out of the boot before going into the market and now with my fruit and veggie bags as well we’re all set to stop bringing home plastic bags. Best wishes