REconsiderED Competition

Reverse Garbage’s creative reuse competition entries for 2023

A huge congratulations to this year’s winners’

Tertiary category:
1st place:  Wattle Jacket by Maevie Mc
2nd place: Ruffles for Days by Amarantha  Z

Secondary Years 10-12 Category:
1st place: Don’t Let Fashion Go To Waste by Kiki M
2nd place: Djungelskog by Katherine L and Janet C 

Secondary Years 7-9:
1st place: Skatebowl by Ayelet L & Francesca T
2nd place: Let Them Eat Cake by Ren C-E

Highly Commended: Yin Sensei by Axel C
People’s Choice: Iris the Ibis by Abigail B

Category: Tertiary

Category: Years 10-12

Category: Years 7 – 9

A huge thanks to all the entrants from this year’s Reconsidered competition!

Can you convert waste into wonder?

As Australia’s largest creative reuse centre and a global leader in the sector, Reverse Garbage inspires people to make reuse their first choice every single day. Reverse Garbage Education delivers a range of innovative, creative and educational sustainability programs, which are all designed to encourage young people to think differently about waste and consumption. As our future leaders, we know young people are passionate about sustainability and our REconsiderED competition provides another avenue to reconsider waste as a valuable and useful resource.

What is REconsiderED?

Our REconsiderED competition is designed to encourage the reimagining, reinventing, and reinvigorating of resources. It is all about transforming an otherwise-disposable item into something of higher quality, to give it another chance at life. It’s the ultimate in reuse.

 Who can enter?

This competition is to high school and tertiary students of all abilities from Year 7 onwards, including students who are home schooled. Please enter the category based on the school year you were enrolled in during 2023.

There are three categories open for individuals or groups containing a minimum of five students:

  • Years 7 to 9 
  • Years 10 to 12
  • Tertiary students (TAFE, university of private college)

As all entries will be submitted online and they can be from anywhere in Australia.

Are there any fees?

No. Thanks to the support of Gateway Bank, entry is free.

What are the prizes?

Entries will be judged by a panel of creatives with experience in, and an appreciation of, creative reuse. In each category, the judges will choose a:

Winner: $1000
Runner up: $500

Plus two prizes overall across all categories:

Highly commended: $250
People’s Choice award selected from all entries: $250

Prize money is provided by our proud supporter, Gateway Bank.

Will there be an exhibition?

Yes. All entries will be displayed in an online exhibition from 16th October to 29th October 2023. This is why quality photos are important.

What dates do I need to be aware of?

Entries submitted by: 22 September 2023
All winners announced: w/c 7 November 2023
Online exhibition: 16th October to 29th October 2023

A message from our sponsor

Our Purpose: Pocket & Planet
Gateway is committed to doing the right thing for our Members’ pockets and their planet, and drive our commitment through a range of initiatives that underpin this purpose. We have been certified as a carbon neutral organisation by Climate Active, and have published our Ethical Investment and Ethical Lending policies which state which sectors we will invest in and lend to, and importantly, which sectors we won’t support.

In our aim to help our Members save money and the planet by using resources as least wastefully as possible, we have partnered with creative reuse organisation Reverse Garbage NSW to support waste repurpose and reduction.

What’s the fine print?

Terms and conditions

  1. Entries must be submitted via email to reconsidered@reversegarbage.org.au by 5.00pm, 22 September 2023.
  2. Entries must be made from used or recovered waste materials. You will need to provide specifics of these materials on the entry form. Non-waste (new) products can only be used for assembling the work, including for binding and adhering.
  3. Entries must be the original work of the entrants. 
  4. A maximum of three entries per group, or one per individual may be submitted.
  5. Items exhibited elsewhere in other prizes or exhibitions are eligible as long as they meet all criteria for this competition.
  6. Artworks that contain unauthorised use of indigenous symbols, motifs or styles are not eligible.
  7. Entrants must be enrolled in high school or tertiary education in 2023.
  8. Entries who are U18 in the Secondary categories must be submitted by a parent, teacher, or principal who will be the contact person for all communications. Any prize will be issued to this adult for distribution.
  9. All entries will be judged using the photographs and description included in the entry.
  10. Reverse Garbage reserves the right to refuse to exhibit artwork if offensive in any way, or does not align with its values.
  11. Every entry must include photos of the students working on the entry as proof it is an original entry. These photos may be used in the exhibition.
  12. The winner(s) may be requested to become involved in further publicity related to the Competition.
  13. Photos supplied as entries may be used by Reverse Garbage and sponsors for promotion and celebration purposes.
  14. Our major sponsor is Gateway Bank www.gatewaybank.com.au
  15. All winner(s) will be notified by Reverse Garbage in the week beginning 7 November 2023 (Recycling Week Australia.
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