Upcycled kennel a treat for puppies

As many of you know the Shire of Wyndham East Kimberley provides two free waste weekends per year, giving a chance for locals to discard a wide range of general household waste, fridges, couches and even cars.

In turn this creates an opportunity for Revive to reduce as much salvageable waste as possible throughout the weekend.

During May’s free waste weekend the Revive team was able to retrieve 1905kg from the Kununurra landfill site, beating its November 2019 record of 1295kg.

The team did an incredible job picking items directly off the tip face and spreading awareness to the community about ways to reduce waste and what Revive can accept through their donations.

We retrieved many items, from pot plants and hanging baskets to scrap metal for sculpture making. It is always so much fun using creativity to determine how an item can be transformed or upcycled.

Dave saved and upcycled a dog kennel. He secured the base, removed the damaged top and replaced it with a piece of scrap plywood, than glued second-hand synthetic turf to the top. This kennel is now home to two happy little dogs.

The number of salvageable items is incredible, we encourage creative minds to reconsider the use of goods before disposing of them in landfill. Old metal frames could become new tables, broken dining chairs can be transformed into day beds — the ideas are endless.

Our contract with the Shire of Wyndham East Kimberley allows us to reduce waste by rummaging through each tip pile daily to retrieve any items that could be resold, upcycled or recycled through the Revive shop.

The Shire has even allocated a large bay within its shed space at the landfill site for the general public to place any items they think could be of use to Revive.

The co-operation and commitment between both teams is truly impressive, together making a positive impact in minimising the amount of waste in landfill.

If you are unsure of what items would be suitable to donate, please contact Revive on 9168 1573 or pop in to visit us at the shop at 5 Konkerberry Drive.

Remember the old saying, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure!

Paige McLachlan is the site leader at Revive Resource Recovery, an initiative of East Kimberley Job Pathways.