Activities

Join us on Saturday 6th September at Fed Square, Melbourne for our annual Zero Waste Festival.

Quick Navigation

Explore Zero Waste Living

Connect with passionate Zero Waste Advocates and discover what it truly means to live with less waste. Learn about practical swaps to reduce waste around your home, and if you have any questions or challenges, we’re here to help!

Drop by for an engaging conversation and meet others who share your commitment to a sustainable lifestyle.

Rag Rope Workshop

11am – 1pm drop in crafting table

Join us for a hands-on demonstration of how discarded textiles can be reimagined into stunning textured creations. Led by our resident Texture Artist Simone Kottmann, from A Fitting Connection who showcases the magic of rag roping, weaving, and felting in action.

Watch how old fabric strips are twisted, coiled, and felted into bowls, mats, and artistic forms. Learn the simple yet powerful technique of rag roping with guidance from one of our community volunteers—perfect for beginners ready to give textile reuse a go.

Whether you’re curious about sustainable making, love tactile crafts, or simply want to be inspired, this event is a celebration of creativity, community, and circular design.

Native Bee Hotel Making Workshop

11:10pm-12:10pm
(25 places available for hands on workshop: onlookers very welcome)

Clancy Lester will lead an engaging, hands-on workshop where participants learn how to create and care for native bee hotels, providing vital nesting spaces for Australia’s incredible pollinators. With over 1,700 native bee species across the country, many play a crucial role in pollination but face increasing pressures from habitat loss, climate change, and urbanisation. Bee hotels are a simple, creative, and sustainable way to support biodiversity in backyards, balconies, schools, and community spaces. The session will begin with a fun introduction to native bees. Clancy will share practical tips for building effective bee hotels from recycled and sustainable materials. Participants will then get hands-on, assembling their own bee hotel to take home, while learning how placement, maintenance, and plant choices can maximise their impact.

Furoshiki -Japanese Gift Wrapping

2 sessions

2pm-3pm & 3pm-4pm

(10 seats available for hands on workshop, onlooker very welcome)

Discover the art of Japanese gift wrapping.
 
Using reusable wrapping cloths, in stunning designs, learn hands-on techniques for eco-friendly gift wrapping, carrying, and everyday use. Say goodbye to disposable bags and paper — and hello to stylish, sustainable solutions!

Pollinator walk and talk

3:15pm-4:15pm

Join Bee nerd Clancy Lester for a guided walk through the Test Gardens at Fed Square and discover the secret life of Melbourne’s pollinators. From native bees to butterflies, flies, and beetles, you’ll learn how these tiny creatures keep ecosystems thriving and how to spot them in action.

Along the way, Clancy will share simple tips for supporting pollinators at home, whether that’s planting the right flowers, reducing pesticides, or creating habitat in our backyards.

Fun, accessible, and eye-opening, this walk will change the way you see the city’s green spaces and leave you buzzing with ideas to help biodiversity and climate.

Free the Fruit

10am-4pm all day drop in crafting table

Join the movement to reduce unnecessary plastic waste in this fun and interactive activity. Learn to craft your own reusable produce bags from reclaimed materials—no sewing experience needed. 

Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned stitcher, you’ll walk away with new skills and a personalized bag, ready to ditch single-use plastic for good. Plus, you’ll be equipped to make even more at home. Create something meaningful while making a real difference.

Fabric Swap

10am-4pm all day drop in and swap

Is your storage of fabric needing a refresh? Bring along you fabric and 

  • Fabrics need to be a minimum of 1m long

  • Limit of 5 fabrics per person

*All left over fabric will be donated to The Fabric ReStore

When buying or swapping fabric, length and width is really important (so you know what you can make from it). So we really need people to measure, roll/fold and label their fabric.

Repair Cafe & Mending Circle

Just as New Zealand has embraced Māori culture, we

can create a future where we respect and value Aboriginal people and take

pride in the oldest living culture in the world.

Skilled volunteers from St Kilda Repair Café are here to help you repair clothes, toys, bikes, small electronics, and more.

Come along to our mending circle and learn how easy mending is to do yourself.  Menders will be there repairing their items to show you how to make simple repairs. Bring anything that needs a stitch such as clothing, textiles or toys and learn how to mend them. Please make sure your items are clean/hygienic. 

Make sure you book your spot when you reserve your ticket

You must register to participate in this activity. Tickets are free but spaces are limited.

*Fab Patch will also be offering free patch repairs from 10am to 3pm. Patch, Wear, Repeat: No-Sew Clothing Repairs Made Easy

Bring your worn, torn, or stained clothing and gear (eg. shoes, camping gear, sleeping bags) to their demonstrations, where they’ll repair them for free in minutes using an innovative rub-on patch—no sewing required! “Limit to 10 repairs per hour. Booking at stall available.”

Clothes Swap

Update your wardrobe and swap clothes, shoes and accessories with The Clothing Exchange.

Bring along up to 6 items of your top quality unwanted clothes shoes, clothes or accessories in great condition to add to the swap collection pool. Then go shopping and refresh your wardrobe. This event is suitable for adults of any gender, age and size.

Swap 1

10am-11am drop off

11:15am-11:45am swap

 

Swap 2

1pm-2pm drop off

2:15pm-2:45pm swap

Please note: only items which are of good quality with a long potential lifespan will be accepted. No underwear, swimwear or pyjamas.

You must register to participate in this activity. Tickets are free but spaces are limited.

Book Swap

10am-4pm all day drop in and swap

Bring up to two books to swap. Please bring books other people are likely to want – so no dirty or damaged books, textbooks, encyclopedias, etc. Children’s books are welcome.  Anyone can give or take a book

This is an open swap, which means that anyone is free to give or take items throughout the day.

Eco Dying Demo

10am-4pm all day Demonstration

Stained tshirt? Boring pillowcase? Wedding dress that is worn once and is now catching dust? Register for a slot to give them new lives with vibrant colours!

Items must be made in cotton, linen or modal only. No underwear, swimwear or pajamas.

You must register to participate in this activity. Tickets are free but spaces are limited.

Zero Waste Hands on Fun

10am-4pm all day drop in crafting table

Kids or adults alike can get crafty and innovative with this upcycled art activity hosted by artist Claire Chatfield

Make your own cards from reclaimed materials scraps – just in time for Father’s Day or any other celebration! 

10am-4pm: All day activity

Bee a Super Eco Warrior

10am-4pm all day drop in activity

Learn how to “Bee a Super Eco Warrior” with BeeHealthy Stories. Their engaging and fun activities are perfect for teaching kids to understand and care for our wonderful planet. Plus there’s plenty to colour!

10am:4pm: All day activity

Plastic Recycling Trailer

Meet RUSTIE, Rethink Recycling‘s solar-powered plastic upcycling trailer! With the use of interactive hand-operated machines, take plastic lids from waste to a valuable product.

Mini Spring Clean the City 1:30pm

*Meet at the Information Desk

Make a difference and have some fun. Join in for a Mini Spring Clean the City with Beach Patrol to give the Yarra River a much-needed spruce-up.

Once the exhibitor’s pack up, team up with fellow eco-warriors to collect, sort, and document litter along the riverbank. Not only will you help beautify our city, but you’ll also contribute to a powerful cause. The data gathered is entered into the Litter Stopper app, supporting advocacy efforts that can shape government policies and local initiatives for community education—helping to stop litter before it starts.

Recycling Centre

9:30am-4pm all day at Hosier Lane 

Join us this Saturday 6 September at Hosier Lane for the Difficult Items to Recycle Hub, part of the Zero Waste Festival.

Bring along your hard-to-recycle items (see list in carousel) and help us give waste a new life.  

📍 Hosier Lane | 🕘 10:00am–4pm | 👣 Just steps from Fed Square.

Eco-Networking Forum from 4pm

Empower Your Ideas, Amplify Your Impact

Zero Waste Victoria is thrilled to partner with four industry experts to support community projects and campaigns. Our goal is to provide invaluable professional advice while connecting passionate individuals with initiatives that match their values.

This two-tiered approach offers both expert guidance and eco-matching: individuals can discover projects and organizations they may wish to join or learn more about, while organizations receive expert tips to launch, or elevate their projects.

We’re dedicated to fostering a supportive environment where ideas turn into actions, and to amplifying meaningful impact. Join us to turn your vision into action and be part of a vibrant, change-making community!

picture by Anastasia Shuraeva

Meet the Artist

Artist: Carolyn Cardinet

In a world where the remnants of single-use plastics saturate our streets and beaches, *Bin NOT* emerges as a testament to the transformative power of art. Crafted over two years from meticulously collected plastics found in the urban landscape and coastal shores of Melbourne, this ensemble transcends its origins to embody the essence of environmental consciousness.

Assembled in vibrant rainbow hues, each section represents a facet of our collective responsibility to confront the plastic deluge. From discarded bottle lids to forsaken individual ‘single-use’ food packaging, every element serves as a poignant reminder of our dependence on convenience and the ensuing environmental toll.

Yet, this sculptural installation is more than a mere reflection of our ecological predicament; it is a warning, symbolising the omnipresent threat of plastic pollution that infiltrates our ecosystems and accumulates in our bodies.

The highlight of the piece is the integrated basketball hoop ring, which serves as a powerful metaphor for the concept of “what goes around, comes around.” It symbolises the cyclical nature of waste, illustrating that when we discard plastic objects, it doesn’t simply disappear but breaks into many small and smaller pieces, impacting the environment and daily lives. This added element underscores the interconnectedness of our actions and the long-term consequences of our consumer habits in the fight against environmental degradation.

 

*Bin NOT* beckons us to acknowledge our complicity in this crisis and to embrace the imperative urgency for making change in our daily lives.

 

This installation has been created entirely from found objects.

The Zero Waste Festival 2025 is organised by Zero Waste Victoria in collaboration with event partners City of Melbourne, Fed Square and Hosier Inc. We are grateful for the support of our partners and sponsors.