From fine art to furniture, there are treasures from other people’s trash

Australia generates more than 76-million tonnes of waste every year and of that, only half is recycled. Leonardo Urbano is among those working to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill.

Trash Lawyer Leonardo Urbano, with one of of his rescued treasures. Credit: SBS-Sandra Fulloon

Key Points

• Australia produces more than 76-million tonnes of waste each year and only half of that is recycled.
• Much of Melbourne’s household waste ends up at the Port Phillip Resource and Recovery centre, with a 20-percent rise in recent years.
• Leonardo Urbano is among those working to recycle more than 3 tonnes of waste produced annually by every Australian.

LISTEN TO

Filipino SMALLBIZ TRASH RNF final

From fine art to furniture, there are treasures from other people’s trash

07:27

Sydney startup RecycleSmart is another venture collecting household waste for re-use or safe disposal.

"In the last three years we have collected like a 300,000 of recyclables. We are currently like in 14 councils in new south Wales and South Australia. Councils find our service like useful because they have, targets that they have to reach in terms of like sustainability and we are helping the residents in order like to achieve those targets," says co-founder Marco Prayer.

How to listen to this podcast. Credit: SBS Filipino