REVERSE GARBAGE

You know what they say: one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, and nothing could be truer than this for Reverse Garbage. This place is a treasure trove of reusable materials going very cheap. Established since 1974, this environmentally aware, not-for-profit co-operative now has two warehouses — in Marrickville and Darlinghurst — right on Taylor Square. Both collect off-cuts, overruns and rejected materials from participating industries every week, with stock changing often. You’ll discover reusable wood, baskets, paper and cardboard, household and party decorations, plastics, leather, Perspex, rubber, fabrics, haberdashery and even computers. When we last enquired, we found $20 buys a hessian bag of mixed materials of your choice while gift boxes are a steal from 50¢. The most popular items for reuse are white paper rolls from $10 to $20 (note to teachers: these are great for kindergarten craft), cardboard storage drums with lids (from $7), mannequins and EVA skins ($8), which are useful for non-slip or yoga mats.