Michael Green

Writer and producer

Block busters: why apartment owners are seeing green

In Architecture and building, Environment, The Age on

As the five-star energy ratings take root, how will residents of exiting apartment blocks negotiate green changes?

Chris Palethorpe looks on with satisfaction as his new external blind hums downward over the balcony, slowly sheltering all his west-facing windows.

Last year, the 30-year-old photographer and his fiancé, Emma Fulu, moved into a fourth-floor apartment in Footscray. They delight in the view across the western suburbs, but during summer their floor-to-ceiling windows had a stifling drawback. “It was probably 10 degrees hotter in here than it was outside, even on a 40 degree day,” Mr Palethorpe says.

The couple have just invested about $8000 on internal and external blinds to improve the flat’s natural heating and cooling. Now, in mid-winter, they rarely need heating. “It wasn’t cheap, but we did it to be more comfortable here,” Mr Palethorpe says.

Efficient housing makeovers like this have become standard dinner party talk. Yet even though one-in-ten Melbourne households lives in a flat, unit or apartment, high-density dwellings are often left out of the debate. Strata title ownership, complicated by common spaces and facilities, can leave wannabe-green residents confused about what changes they are allowed to make.

Recent changes to state legislation mean that a building’s body corporate is now known as its ‘owners corporation’. Unfortunately, the name change hasn’t made group decision-making any easier. “You can count on one hand the number of properties that have ever achieved a unanimous resolution,” laughs Julie McLean, from Owners Corporations Victoria (OCV, formerly Institute of Body Corporate Managers Victoria). OCV represents owners corporation managers, the businesses that implement residents’ instructions.

According to Ms McLean, retrofitting residential apartment blocks to make them more sustainable “is the next big thing to tackle. The reason why it wasn’t tackled is because it’s been too hard.”

Any change to the outward appearance of an apartment building needs the approval of the owners corporation, but that’s not the only complication. Exactly who owns the water collected from a common roof? To get the solar panel rebate, how do you means test an owners corporation?

Despite the difficulties, Ms McLean says that apartment owners want to make their properties more efficient. “People are starting to say to me, ‘What can we do?’” She argues that like everyone else, high-rise residents need information and incentives to invest in sustainable retrofitting. She would like government departments to develop an information kit setting out the do’s and don’ts, including the likely costs and savings and the resolutions needed for specific changes.

Roger Kluske, Manager of Built Environments at Sustainability Victoria, agrees that strata title often clouds residents’ motivation to make sustainable changes. But he also sees owners corporation meetings as a possible driver for change. “I think body corporates need to get together and talk about these issues.”

“People who live in apartments just tend to take one bag of rubbish downstairs and chuck it in any bin that’s empty,” Mr Kluske says. Owners corporations could help solve this problem by educating residents. “Maybe the body corporate needs to have some sort of sustainability commitment, or people could sign agreements to do the right thing?”

He says an agreement could help with simple changes like sorting rubbish, allowing washing to dry on balconies (instead of using the dryer), or putting efficient lighting in public areas.

Four city apartment blocks have already begun to change their habits. The Melbourne City Council has just finished its Sustainable Living in the City (SLIC) program, which aimed to cut waste, water and energy use at Madison Apartments, Southbank Towers, Spring Street Towers and The Sovereign, in Southbank.

First, each building was audited, including interviews with residents, to work out how best to cut its carbon footprint. People then fitted efficient showerheads and light globes and some also added energy-smart gadgets like remote-controlled switches (to cut stand-by power use) and ‘Cent-a-meters’ (to show residents the cost of their electricity use at any time).

In common spaces, each building reduced lighting energy by swapping to lower wattage globes, removing unnecessary lights and installing timers where possible. They also put in rainwater tanks to care for shared gardens.

In the buildings with centralised hot water systems, plumbers added insulation and rebalanced the pressure system in the pipes – to dramatic effect. In some cases, householders had been waiting as long as ten minutes for hot water, all the while wasting cold water down the drain. After the maintenance, their hot water arrived almost instantaneously, leading to significant water and gas savings.

Dorothy LeClaire, manager of the owners corporation department at MCIM Property, says that while the full results of the trial haven’t yet come out, she expects big efficiency gains. MCIM manages three of the four buildings in the council trial.

In relation to lighting changes alone, “according to what the electricians say, it should eventually mean savings of anywhere to 30 per cent,” she says. At the Spring Street Towers, lighting savings are expected to save up to $13 000 per year, and retrofitting costs will be paid back in less than 14 months.

Lord Mayor John So is pleased with results of the SLIC program and hopes that it will continue under the new council to be elected in November. “We know that it was quite successful. The four buildings that were involved in this program reported significant decreases in energy and water consumption,” he says. “There is a lot of interest and support at the moment for rolling these programs further.”

The scheme has already rolled into other MCIM buildings, according to Ms LeClaire. Last year, the company held an energy forum for its properties based on the SLIC trial and is promoting audits for each block. “I would say all of our buildings are now participating in some way with sustainability,” she says.

But despite enthusiasm at council and management level, a sustainable retrofit hasn’t yet translated to higher property values. Dannie Corr, director of St Kilda real estate agents Whiting and Co, says that when it comes to old apartment buildings, buyers don’t ask about sustainability. “It doesn’t seem to be top of mind at all.”

Matthew Morley, Sales Manager at Morleys Real Estate in Elwood, agrees that eco-features are not yet impacting on sale prices. But he does believe that they attract buyer interest. When a flat comes with green benefits “people get pretty excited, which is a good sign that people do want those things,” he says. “I think that right through the bayside area it will become a very important factor when selling.”

In his Footscray flat, Mr Palethorpe wasn’t motivated by the prospect of better real estate returns. As well as expensive purchases like their indoor and outdoor blinds, the couple have spruced up their apartment with an assortment of simple eco-friendly measures. They’ve put in a water-saving showerhead, compact fluorescent globes and a Bokashi Bucket composting system.

Every six weeks or so, Mr Palethorpe takes his compost to a community garden in Braybrook and a local gardener has begun rewarding his effort. “The guy now gives us food in return for our waste; he gives us cauliflower or whatever he’s got.”

“It’s up to the individual to put some time and effort into it,” he says. “Maybe these things are saving us money down the track, I don’t know. But it’s helping the environment.”

Five easy ways to green up your apartment and save energy and money

Efficient fittings

Change to low-flow showerheads and tap fittings, dual-flush toilets and low-energy lighting. If you have halogen downlights, you can switch from 50-watt to 20-watt globes.

Efficient appliances

If your fridge, dishwasher or washing machine dies, choose high-efficiency replacements. Dry your clothes on your balcony, if you have one.

Be wise about waste

Remember to recycle, even if the bins are far away in the basement. Flat-friendly compost systems, like the Bokashi Bucket, are also available.

Insulation

Add external blinds to block the hot summer sun on west-facing windows, and internal blinds to trap heat inside during winter. If you renovate, put in double-glazed windows and extra insulation.

Common spaces

Why not use your owners corporation to make an eco-agreement with your neighbours? A building audit can help you cut your carbon footprint. You can make common light fittings more efficient. If you have centralised hot water (ring mains), get a plumber to make sure the system is balanced – it could save water and gas.

Always remember that any changes to the common space or external appearance of your building need owners corporation (body corporate) approval. Ask your owners corporation manager if you aren’t sure about something. 

High five: why the new renovation rating is all about smart design

In Architecture and building, Environment, The Age on

Meeting the state’s new five-star energy rating costs renovators very little but saves the environment heaps.

Owning an old house is no longer an excuse for inefficient design. Extensions, like new houses, must now comply with the 5 Star energy standard.

The new regulations, introduced by the state government on 1 May this year, bring Victoria into line with the national standard in the Building Code of Australia. With about 40 000 Victorian homes done up every year, the changes could make a big difference to our greenhouse gas emissions.

Research by the state building regulator, the Building Commission, shows that in new homes the efficiency requirements already in place cut heating and cooling energy bills in half. “That’s likely to be achieved as well, in relation to alterations and additions,” says Victoria’s Building Commissioner, Tony Arnel.

He says that meeting the efficiency standard is mainly about smart design. “It is really careful use of materials and making sure that you get good orientation. People can actually achieve the 5 Star standard without any significant increase in cost.” In any case, he believes that reduced bills will quickly outweigh any higher outlays.

The 5 Star regulations apply only to work that requires a building permit and they vary depending on the size of your extension. For larger additions the whole house must comply, while for smaller changes only the new construction must adhere to the rules [see box]. Arnel doesn’t believe the requirements are onerous. “It’s a minimum standard… people can go a long way further if they want to,” he says.

The Building Commission, in conjunction with a number of state departments, has just launched the ‘Make Your Home Green’ website. It gives information on how to increase energy efficiency at home in every way, including detailed explanations of the new renovation rules. The site is proving very popular: in its first month, it received over 400 000 hits. “People want to do the right thing by the environment. They want to get the answers,” Arnel says.

On building sites though, not everything is running smoothly. Robert Ring, owner of Melbourne Extensions and Designs, agrees that the new regulations will be successful in the long run. For now though, his business is battling complications brought on by the rules. “We are trying to come to grips with the [software] package that’s been put out to calculate the ratings,” he says. “At the present it’s probably taking three or four hours to work out the figures.”

Ring has found that for his clients living in older, solid brick homes around Camberwell and Glen Iris, it can be hard to meet the energy standard. “You’ve got to design with the existing house in mind so it’s not as easy to get your ratings as people think,” he says. Under the regulations, building surveyors have discretion to allow only partial compliance if it would be too costly or technically difficult to reach the stars. With the rules just in, Ring isn’t sure how often these exemptions will be granted.

He estimates that on average, the regulations will only increase costs by about 1%. Often though, he finds that clients decide to spend even more and green up their home beyond the requirements by putting double-glazed windows throughout their house.

According to Enzo Raimondo, CEO of the Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV), the extra outlay is not only worthy, but also financially worthwhile. “It’s going to cost a little more to begin with but if the cost of energy and water keeps going up, then a 5 Star energy rating is going to be a wise investment,” he says.

In a survey conducted by REIV last year, 93% of people said that water and energy efficiency were important for them when buying a home. Raimondo believes that investing in a 5 Star renovation will add value to a property and appeal for potential buyers. “Economically it makes sense and for resale it makes sense.”

So what is the best way to bring home the stars and boost your property value? Mark Sanders, Director of Geelong firm Third Ecology Architects, says that passive solar design is the key. “If people are thinking about doing a renovation, they should try to make sure their living area is facing north and allow the sun to come in during winter and exclude it in summer.” Cross ventilation and thermal mass, like concrete floors, also help even out the temperature in hot and cold weather.

Sanders recommends you find out how your home performs as it stands. “People will need to do an energy rating of their existing home before the renovation.”

In the old part of your house, he says insulating walls and ceilings is the best way to improve efficiency. “In my own home, we had to replace some plasterboard… so that gave us the opportunity to insulate. Likewise, if you had to replace weatherboards you could insulate the external walls.”

Adding carpet or insulation under floors also cuts heat loss, as does sealing draughts under doors, windows, chimneys and exhaust fans. “Most front doors in older houses tend to have big gaps under the front of them,” he says. “So put in simple draught excluders.”

Simple steps to harness the elements

Barbara and Graeme Davidson are sitting in the new, bright back room of their 1930s Surrey Hills home. It is a cold, grey day but the room is light and comfortable, without artificial lighting or heating. They are thrilled with the environmental performance of their north-facing extension. “I just find every morning I come in here and it’s a delight. It’s airy, it’s spacious,” Graeme says, leaning back on the couch in satisfaction.

The Davidsons finished their revamp almost two years ago. Now, renovations like theirs are set to become the norm. On 1 May, the state government introduced new regulations forcing additions and alterations, like new homes, to comply with the 5 Star energy standard.

The couple’s contemporary-styled extension added both a study and a large open room, with a kitchen, lounge and informal dining space. They also installed solar hot water and a rainwater tank that collects from the roof of their new garage.

Andrew Wilson, the architect on the Surrey Hills home, is pleased with the results. He called his clients during a long summer hot spell and found, to his satisfaction, that they had barely used their air-conditioner.

According to Wilson, environmental efficiency is just about good design. “This is not rocket science, at all,” he says, leaning forward keenly. “The sun is higher in summer and lower in winter. It’s as basic as that.”

In the hotter months, wide eaves shade the large north-facing windows. Between each pane of glass, thick supports jut out to protect against the westerly afternoon sun. “In mid-summer you get no direct light into the building,” Graeme confirms. But in mid-winter, he says, the sun stretches right across the room.

Other eco-touches in the renovation include insulation beyond the 5 Star requirements and effective cross ventilation – airflow through the house to help natural cooling. Equally, in winter, the warm lounge room can be shut off from the rest of the home to keep the heat in. The garden too, has a role to play. The Davidsons planted deciduous trees that will offer summer shade and allow winter sun.

The renovation may be finished, but Barbara’s plans continue. Keen to make the house even more efficient, she wants to put in a grey water system and solar panels. “I just feel we come from the generation that have used the resources, and I include myself in that,” she says. “I’ve got grandchildren and I’m worried about what sort of world I’m going to leave them.”

The new rules at a glance

The 5 Star energy rating now applies to home additions, alterations and relocations, as well as new homes. The rules are flexible, depending on the size of the job.

If your renovation is more than 50% of your house’s original volume, the whole building should be converted to 5 Star.

If your extension is between 25 and 50% of your floor area, the only the new space must stick to the eco-standard.

If your alteration is less than 25% of your floor area, the new space should meet the rules but in some cases, your building surveyor can ok only partial compliance. According to Building Commissioner Tony Arnel, this applies “in the very few instances where it’s not feasible to get to 5 Star.”

More information

The lambs in winter

In Environment, The Big Issue on

All the focus recently has been on drought, but winter can bring the cruelest months for people on the land.

Bill Allen is closing the gate as I arrive. He’d driven out to collect the mail. Tall and strong but bowed and stiffened by the years, the old farmer shuffles over to shake my hand. “You’re the university lad are you?” he asks. I’m here from the city, on a break from crowds, concrete and cars.

We stand on the bridge over Salt Creek and Bill, now 87, proudly explains how his son David built it to replace the rickety wooden one. The thick concrete slabs and steel girders dwarf the skinny creek below.

Boorook is a family-run property in Woorndoo, near Mortlake in Western Victoria. The Allens arrived in 1906. Their grand old farmhouse reclines on the low hill above the paddocks and gullies.

Puddles line the dirt road. Bill tells me there was half an inch of rain overnight. They desperately needed rain to break the drought, he says, but it came at the worst time. The shearing is on and shearers won’t work with wet sheep; the damp wool gives them dermatitis. If it rains again, they’ll have to call off the rest of the week’s work. All that can be shorn today are sheep that were undercover last night.

Bill leads me to the woolshed and introduces me to David, who runs the farm. David is tall and solid, with thick, strong hands. His navy woollen jumper is flecked with newly shorn fluff. The shearers are working, their machines buzzing and whirring. They are hunched over, backs supported by braces on springs from the roof, bare arms moving in long and short blows over sheep pinned between their knees. After each sheep is done, the shearer pushes it through the gate to join his tally, eases his back up straight and drags the next one from the pen.

A few years ago the Allens collected interviews and compiled family trees for Boorook’s centenary celebrations. They made a book that tells of tennis tournaments, days spent rabbit hunting and eight children taking lessons at home, of two world wars and one employee who rode into town to get the mail each day. The Allens employed many workers in decades gone by, but now there is just one, Gary. He is leaving soon and will be difficult to replace. Farm labourers are hard to come by while mining money is oozing out of the West.

The woolshed, with rusting corrugated iron roof and walls, is even older than the farmhouse. David thinks it was built around 1860. Inside, the walls are adorned with fading airline posters. The floorboards and rails are worn smooth and sticky with wool fat. Little has changed here over the years; shearing technology has been much the same since the introduction of machine shears in the late 19th century.

I watch as two female rouseabouts stride back and forth along the row of five shearers, their hard brooms clacking on the floorboards, pushing the loose wool into small piles. The rousies stoop to gather the full fleeces from the shearers’ feet then throw them evenly over the wrought iron bench, as if spreading a blanket over a bed.

Outside, the sky darkens.

Not long after smoko they run out of dry sheep. A mob of waterlogged ewes, with long thick fleeces, was next to be shorn but now they slosh through a wet paddock. There’s no way to hasten the drying; they need sun, wind and time in the paddock. The shearers must wait with no work.

Wild weather is forecast overnight, so we herd the thousand newly shorn, bleach-white lambs back into the shed. David and I drive in the ute, his son Nick rides the motorbike and their sheepdog, Bella, scurries in wide arcs. David whistles instructions, “Wayback Bella, wayback. Wayback Bella wayback.”

Winter shearing intrigues me. We put our woollies on, I think to myself as we follow behind the dog, and take theirs off. But David says they rarely lose sheep to the weather. “We lost more when we sheared during summer. Summer frosts catch them when they aren’t prepared for the cold.” A battalion of sheep runs up the hill as another mob comes charging down and it reminds me of an epic movie battle scene. “It’s like a moving snowstorm,” David says.

Just before dawn I wake to the sound of wind and rain against the windows. The bureau forecasts that the rain will blow over in the afternoon, so David and Nick decide to let the sheep out of the shed and move them to a distant paddock, where there is good grass to eat. It is a difficult decision: the sheep will suffer from the cold, but they need food in their bellies. There is no room for feeding in the shed.

We herd them in the heavy rain and I am glad to chug along in the fogged-up ute while David and Nick are drenched on their motorbikes. The lambs are only ten months old. They have been hand-fed through the drought and look small and feeble without their wool.

The rain doesn’t blow over. By afternoon the hills are streaming with water. Drains are overflowing, dams are filling and the creek is rushing under the big bridge. Two months ago the farm was hard and dry. The dams were almost empty. We take a tea break in the old farmhouse; the rain dominates conversation. Dorothy, David’s mother, brings us cheese on toast and fruitcake. Bill says it’s been ten years since they had rain like this.

The Allens have seen the weather change over the decades. Their forebears stripped the land for grazing, but now they are taking action to look after the farm and the local environment. David has planted thousands of new trees and fenced off Salt Creek to keep the cattle out and save wildlife and water flows. He has built more dams and begun construction of a wetland bird sanctuary on the farm. More trees mean more shade for the animals, and more dams mean more water.

After the tea break, Nick and I dig out a drain to let water flow into the dam near the mailbox. We are driving back when he gets a call from David. Earlier that morning, worried about the cold, David and Gary had guided the sheep into a cluster of trees by a dam for protection. They had left a trail of barley to encourage them to eat. Nick puts down his phone. “There are dead sheep everywhere,” Nick says, looking straight ahead.

We drive out and over the crest of the hill and see the lines of sodden grain still yellow against the muddy grass. Then dozens of lambs lying dead. They’d been too cold to eat the food they needed.

The farmers, stern-faced, confer in low tones. I stand by awkwardly in my borrowed gumboots, not knowing what to do. Stunned, Nick says he’s never seen anything like it. The living sheep shiver; some huddle around the ute, desperately seeking the warmth of the engine. Still it rains. The night is forecast to be cold and wet again and the surviving lambs – too many and too far away – are too weak to make the journey back to shelter. We must leave them behind.

That evening, the family is quiet around the dinner table, knowing the worst is yet to come. David sighs and stares at his food, ruing the decision to move the sheep out of the woolshed.

In the morning we find the shocks of dead white among the green trees, many more than expected. Others are in the dam, blobs of pale flotsam from the storm: hand-fed, drought-surviving lambs, wasted in the rain.

With his tractor, David digs two large pits close by and then begins scooping drowned lambs out of the water. Gary gathers the stray dead, dragging them two at a time by rope from his motorbike. Nick and I work among the trees.

At first, I place the lambs gently on the back of the ute, avoiding their glassy, grey eyes. Cold water squelches down my sleeves from their stiff legs. Then through weight of numbers I grow tougher and begin to drag and throw them roughly on the pile. Yellow bile drips from their open mouths and the tangle of bodies wobbles like jelly as the ute rolls away.

We work together in silence. I look away at the mud while Nick slits the throats of the ones soon to die. Then we push them all into the pit-graves. The count reaches three hundred, almost a third of the lambs shorn two days ago. It is still drizzling and the forecast shows more rain on the way.

I leave the next morning. Bill and Dorothy see me off with extra food, concerned I’d seen only the worst of Boorook. This downpour runs into dams, catchments and reservoirs. Back in the city I track the water levels rising, on the corner of my newspaper. I know that David is planting his wetland, watching the weather, wondering what it will bring next.

***

A year on, I call again. David Allen still shudders at the memory of the lambs’ deaths. “It was a miserable bloody day,” he says. “I made a bad decision to let them out of the shed,” he says. Since then, the Allens have planted 2500 trees on their property and have ordered 700 more. The lambs and the land will be better protected. “People always laugh at farmers talking about the weather, but we do it for a good reason,” he says. “It’s often a life and death situation.”

Healthy spring lambing brought his mob’s numbers back up, and the summer was mild. Two shearings have passed as normal, with no hitches. There has been little rain.

Photography by Michael Green

Global cooling

In Community development, Environment, Social justice, The Age on

A new project is turning our old white fridges green.

At the Phoenix Fridges warehouse in East Brunswick, two long rows of fridges face-off like football teams before a big game. On the left, a refurbished line-up is clean, efficient and ready to run. On the right, the dusty, sticker-covered new recruits will soon face their ultimate test.

But unlike a footy game, this eco-friendly scheme always returns a win-win result.

Phoenix Fridges, co-run by the Brotherhood of St Lawrence and Moreland Energy Foundation Limited, aims to curb the appetite of our power-hungry refrigerators. To do it, they collect unwanted appliances and retrofit them to improve efficiency. Then, the recycled goods are resold in the Brotherhood’s opshops.

The scheme is not only a plus for the environment, but also lends a helping hand in the community. Last year, while learning how to fix the whitegoods on the job, three refugees completed six-month traineeships and TAFE certificates in electrotechnology services. This year, the number of traineeships is set to double. The program’s other important social benefit is that low-income families gain access to cheap second-hand fridges with lower running costs.

Bruce Thompson, Business Program Coordinator at MEFL, says Phoenix Fridges offers a strong practical step for cutting electricity use. The fridge devours more energy than any other appliance. “It is responsible for about ten or 15 per cent of a household’s greenhouse emissions,” he says.

Thompson encourages people to buy a new fridge if they can afford it. “From a greenhouse policy perspective, it is really good to buy a new one. They are about 70 per cent more efficient than a fridge you would buy 15 years ago.” But there’s a catch. Over a third of Victorian homes have a second fridge: people tend to put their old unit in the garage and use it to store drinks. “So instead of saving 70 per cent, they’ve increased their energy consumption,” he says.

That’s where Phoenix Fridges comes in. The project has been in full swing for over a year. In that time, it has collected more than 5000 old refrigerators – almost one hundred per week – across metropolitan Melbourne. The free pick-up zone now stretches as far as Mt Eliza.

When the chunky donations arrive at the workshop, electrical engineer Noe Cuellar and his trainees assess the efficiency and quality of each one. They send approximately half the machines to be scrapped.

According to Thompson, this is a crucial part of the process. “We want to manage the project so that we are returning good fridges back into circulation to make them affordable for low-income households,” he says. “But we don’t want to send the energy hungry ones back,” he says.

Before the cast-offs are sent for metal recycling, their dangerous refrigerant gas is captured from the pipes. “A kilogram of the old CFCs in a fridge… is equivalent to 8000 kilograms of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere in terms of its global warming equivalent,” Thompson says. If you put your old fridge out for hard rubbish collection, he says, the pipes are likely to break along the way and release the harmful gas.

For those fridges that make the cut, where necessary, Cuellar and his team replace seals, thermostats, filters and compressors, and add insulation. He says that, on average, they cut energy use by between five and ten per cent.

Each unit is fitted with a sticker listing the appliance’s energy consumption, carbon emissions and running cost per year. Cuellar says that customers appreciate this extra information, as well as the improved performance. “We’ve found that people love the fridges,” he says. “They find them really cost effective.”

Thompson acknowledges that Phoenix Fridges doesn’t create five-star efficiency in the old units. “We can’t do that,” he says. “But we are improving them or rejecting all of the bad fridges that are in that second-hand market.”

With climate change upon us, and so many energy-gobbling fridges still clogging our homes, we all need to get in on the action. It’s a perfect match.

To organise a donation and collection, call 1300 366 283. 

Waste not

In Environment, The Age on

Recycling is more than the weekly trudge to the nature strip: it’s the alternative resource boom. Meet Melbournians who are turning rubbish into a recycling revival.

ART

Ash Keating has taken in the trash. Truckloads of it. The 27-year-old artist wants to shock with the sheer bulk of waste going into landfill everyday. And for his Next Wave Festival show, 2020?, he’s putting it to better use.

Keating had five trucks of industrial waste dumped at the Arts House Meat Market in North Melbourne and asked more than 20 artists to shift through it to create sculptures and installations.

“We’ve got a connection with waste in our family,” says Keating. His grandfather ran a rubbish-removal service and his mother started a waste-management business.

The concept for 2020? came years ago, while Keating was working for Waste Audit. He saw potential art supplies squandered: “Being a visual artist and understanding how expensive materials are to get a hold of, it became really obvious to me that there was a huge gap in terms of the value of resources. I really dreamed about being able to intercept these trucks and take them elsewhere.”

Melanie Upton is also gripped by garbage. “I often turn up at home with rubbish,” the artist admits. “I have piles of rubbish in my house that I’ve collected.”

Her installation in the city, Beautiful Trash, features dozens of small sculptures – replicas of discarded drink bottles, cast in aluminium, plaster or concrete. A shiny silver milk carton stands next to a gold, deflated water bottle. Logos and colour schemes may have disappeared, but the brands are easy to pick by their distinctive shapes.

Upton believes there’s a message in her bottles. “I think this work definitely speaks strongly about the sort of consuming society that produces this waste and then people’s relationship to that.”

CRAFT

On the first weekend of every month, Sam McKean opens her colourful Fitzroy North store, Aprilmay. Betty Jo bird-shaped brooches, crafted from discarded lino and buttons, rest on an old, white shelf. Made By Maude ducks, hatched from reclaimed fabrics, perch on top of a wardrobe. McKean makes cushions and bags from 1970s furnishing fabrics and stretchy bangles from rolled-up tights. She thinks that demand for recycled things is growing as people are becoming more environmentally aware. But that’s not the only benefit of her stock. “There’s always a story behind every product,” she says.

Former history student Dan Vaughan is also captivated by the stories behind his Nearly Roadkill bags, wallets and belts. The 29-year-old makes his wares with car upholstery gleaned from motor trimmers. Years ago, while travelling in Europe and the US, Vaughan saw people making new goods from waste.

“I was attracted to it not just because it was recycling, but because there was a history embedded in the materials already,” he says.

Vaughan began Nearly Roadkill in 2006, using a “mega-industrial sewing machine that can go through anything”. He savours the thrill of the hunt for materials. “(The motor trimmers) don’t know what they are going to be throwing out every week. It’s always a surprise. When you find gold it’s really like, ‘This is going to be so much fun’.”

So what’s the message behind all these artisans’ thrifty flair? “The resources are non-renewable, unless we do it ourselves,” Vaughan says.

FASHION

“When you have limited resources,” says Ellie Mucke, “you’re pushed to come up with better designs.” In her hands, a man’s business shirt, nipped, tucked and turned back-to-front becomes a halter-neck dress.

The 28-year-old designer makes clothes from discarded shirts and slacks. “People buy them without actually knowing that they’re recycled,” she says. Fashion can be frivolous. Take this: according to a 2005 estimate by the Australia Institute, we spend $1.56 billion every year on clothes and accessories we don’t wear. Thankfully, a slew of local designers such as Mucke are making good from our mistakes. For their A Name Is A Label brand, Nicole Fausten and Lina Didzys make one-off clothes and jewellery. “(We use) any sort of materials we come across: anything from old clothing to tablecloths and curtains, pillow cases, ribbons or stockings,” Fausten says. “We believe in trying to utilise resources around us rather than going out to buy new things.”

Bird Girl – Sophie McAlpin and Anita King – share the lost-and-found ethos. They sew outfits on the spot in their Fitzroy store. McAlpin hails from a family of recyclers. “My grandmother was a dressmaker so, to pass time, she’d say, ‘Oh take these scraps and there’s a needle’. When I was really young I used to do lots of costumes. I’d be like, ‘Mum, can I have an old sheet? Dad, some fencing wire?’.”