Do you have an idea to turn rags into riches or scrap wood into spare cash? Head along to a community workshop on Wednesday 8 September to share your business idea and get support.
This free and interactive workshop is being held from 10am to 2pm on Wednesday 8 September at the Rockhampton SmartHub, and is being delivered by Rockhampton Regional Council in partnership with Central Queensland University.
Waste and Recycling Councillor Shane Latcham invited anyone with a creative waste solution to come along.
"Council is currently working with CQU to develop plans for a potential 'Upcycle Village' at the Lakes Creek Road Waste Management Facility," Cr Latcham said.
"This concept is all about looking at ways to recover valuable resources from the waste stream and give them new life, rather than send them to sit in landfill.
"I'm sure there are a lot of really creative ideas in our community. If this is an area where you see opportunity, this workshop is a fantastic chance to really develop your concept."
CQUniversity Social Innovation Program Manager Steve Williams said the community workshop was a chance to get creative about waste solutions.
"The Upcycle Village has the potential to host to social enterprises, that is businesses for a social purpose, taking waste and creating income streams from those 50,000 tonnes of waste going into landfill in Rockhampton Region," he said.
"We're all familiar with the concept of a tip shop diverting waste and creating an income, but this workshop is a chance for people interested in business development, to actually design new products and new revenues, from resources that are currently going straight into the ground.
"Rockhampton Region Waste and Recycling has already done great work to track and identify what the waste streams coming in are, and now the community can share their experience and insight about opportunities to create wealth, and social benefit, from waste.
"Thanks to the Queensland Government and the Queensland Social Enterprise Council, CQUni is thrilled to be working with Rockhampton Regional Council to help move towards a more circular economy," Mr Williams said.
Jim Callan is the founder of Upcycle CQ, a social enterprise challenging young people to grow their skills while finding new purposes for waste items.
The former CQUniversity Business lecturer says the Upcycle Village project will help inspire locals to get creative about addressing unsustainable consumption, and he's looking forward to the workshop.
"Thinking about alternative ways to use waste absolutely triggers creativity," Mr Callan said.
"Working with young people, you present them with the problem or the item we want to divert from landfill and they'll design all sorts of solutions.
"They just need the chance and the community support to do it, which is why I'm so excited about Upcycle CQ and the Upcycle Village."
