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It's long been the place to go for artists, model makers and students working on school projects. Now Sydney’s pioneering sustainability centre, Reverse Garbage, is about to celebrate its 50th anniversary. For half a century, it's been challenging consumers to think more deeply about the stuff we throw away.

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00:00These are the remnants from gasket manufacturers.
00:06It's a rescue home for rejects, offcuts and leftovers.
00:11It's waste to them but it's not waste to us.
00:13Everything here was destined to end up in landfill.
00:17We'll get a phone call saying, I'm standing here in the loading dock
00:20and this is all going to the bin and I can see
00:22that it just shouldn't be going to landfill.
00:25Salvaged from the trash, these unwanted items
00:28are given a second chance at finding a useful purpose.
00:32See you later, you're welcome.
00:33It's just about really using your imagination,
00:35seeing the potential in whatever we have.
00:38There are hooks and hinges, stoppers and spools,
00:41Mexican hats and coffee sacks, even some old fire hose.
00:46I think we invented the fear of missing out
00:48because we do have people that are here so regularly
00:50because you just never know what you're going to find.
00:54Five tonnes of diverted waste is snapped up every month.
00:58We have teachers, students, builders, crafters, artists, makers, hoarders,
01:05the list goes on.
01:07This is actually made from bicycle inner tube.
01:10Jewellery maker Alison Breen is a regular customer.
01:13I don't really come here looking for something specific.
01:16I find something and just kind of, I don't know, it just sort of speaks to me.
01:21Others come with something particular in mind.
01:24My daughter wants to go to book week as Hagrid from the Harry Potter series.
01:29I'm moving house so I've come to look for some carpet squares
01:31to put down under furniture.
01:33I just found these little stick on earrings. Do you remember these?
01:36It's shopping as an antidote to consumerism.
01:40We need to value things more, we need to maintain them more,
01:45look after them, pass them on, share them, repair them.
01:50A philosophy ahead of its time in an increasingly disposable society.
01:55we want to calm down.
02:15BestmiyorMedia
02:18Best ベーストー

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