Activities
Join us on Saturday 14th September at Fed Square, Melbourne for our annual Zero Waste Festival.
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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.
Free the Fruit
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.
Zero Waste Treasure Hunt
Adventure for All Ages
Embark on the Zero Waste Treasure Hunt. Grab your quest card and journey through the festival, visiting exhibitors and taking part in hands-on activities. Collect stamps along the way, you’ll uncover eco-friendly secrets and sustainable solutions at every stop. Whether you’re young or young at heart, this adventure is your chance to explore, learn, and win exciting prizes.
Complete your Quest Card, and you’ll be entered into the draw for a treasure trove of sustainable goodies.
Repair Cafe & Mending Circle
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.
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.
10am – 11 pm Drop in your clothes
12:00 pm – 2:00 pm Clothes swap opens for ‘shopping’
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
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.
Fridge Magnets
Kids or adults alike can make functional fridge magnets out of recycled materials
Get crafty with this fun for all ages
Bee a Super Eco Warrior
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!
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 4-5:30pm
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
From 10am to 4pm, you can take your hard to recycle items to the Zero Waste Recycle Centre, located in the Atrium.
What we are accepting
| Item | What is accepted? | What happens to it? |
| Bottle lids | Clean and dry plastic #2 and #4 bottles lids are accepted, such as milk, water and soft drink plastic bottle lids. These must be sorted by colour | Recycled with Rethink Recycling. Lids are sorted, shredded and melted into a range of products such as furniture, skateboards and other useful items |
| Bread tags | Plastic bread tags are accepted. Paper bread tags are not accepted. | Recycled with Aussie Bread Tags for Wheelchairs. They will be recycled in South Australia and funds are used to purchase wheelchairs. |
| Golf balls | All brands of golf balls are accepted. | Recycled with Golf Ball Recycling to make outdoor furniture, safety bollards, paving and used in drainage systems. |
| Styrofoam/ Polystyrene | Packaging, bean bag balls, vegetable boxes and construction EPS are accepted. Food packaging, food trays and packaging peanuts are not accepted. | Recycled with Styrocycle into items such as construction insulation. |
| Textiles | All unrepairable textiles such as clothing, shoes, home textiles, soft toys, accessories and underwear are accepted. | Recycled with Upcycle 4 Better into items such as fibre to fibre and playground surfaces. |
| Blister Packs | All used blister packs, no medication remaining. 40 per person maximum. Visit their stall for more information | Materials are separated and recycled with Pharmacycle, a complete end-to-end solution for the recycling of medicinal blister packs |
| Oral care waste | Toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes and flossing plastics | Recycle Wise |
| Reusable Cups | All brands of re-usable coffee cups (not mugs) | Cups will be used at Village Greening’s reusable cub library, who supply reusable cups to cafe’s across Melbourne |
| Soft Plastic | Plastics that is soft & scrunchable | APR Plastics convert the plastic into oil for plastic remanufacture |
Eco-Networking Forum from 4:30pm
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!
Got a Community Project or Campaign and want FREE expert advice?
*Prepare Your Submission*: Clearly outline your project, campaign or questions. Be concise and specific to help the panel understand your needs, and email to events@zerowastevictoria.org.au. Remember to include your organization’s details. 250-500 words max
- Lucy Best- Community Engagement Specialist for Let Me Be Frank, Sustainability Advocate, and Project Manager with over 25 years’ experience in local government, non-profits, and the arts.
- Marty Rowell – Vice President of Circular Economy Victoria, Circular Economy Innovator, and Co-founder of TCX | The Cup Exchange. With expertise in Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Applied Finance, and Innovation for Sustainability, Marty is dedicated to advancing circular economy practices and empowering businesses through Circulise.
- Caitlin Phillipps-Peddlesden – Circular Economy Leader and Program Manager at RMIT Activator, specializing in circular innovation, program design, and strategic facilitation. With a background in the non-profit sector, Caitlin drives the growth of Victoria’s circular entrepreneurial community, empowering students and innovators to transform ideas into impactful, real-world solutions.
- Fleur Baker – Founder and Principal Trainer at Real Earth Solutions, creator of the REAL SUCCESS ™ Framework. With over twenty years of experience and qualifications in environment and sustainability, health science, coaching, and permaculture, Fleur empowers leaders and organizations to become forces for good by integrating transformative practices that benefit people and the planet.
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.
