Camden Council's next big art competition is on wheels, not walls - because the canvas is a waste truck!
Council is calling on budding Picassos to bin-spire the community in its newest art competition entitled The Garbage Gallery, where local primary school students can create dazzling designs that will wrap around our garbage trucks and turn heads all year long.
What's the challenge, you ask? Turn food waste into food wow by illustrating one or more of the seven food waste avoidance behaviours smart habits from The Great Unwaste campaign.
Those seven behaviours are:
• Pack it. Stack it. Chill it., which calls for people to store and label food properly to keep it fresh and avoid spoilage;
• Flexi meal plan, encouraging people to plan meals with flexibility so unexpected events don't lead to wasted food;
• Join the leftovers revolution, which looks to help people turn their leftovers into quick, tasty meals to save time and money;
• First in, first out, where we use older food items before newer ones to reduce waste;
• Stick to your list, which encourages shoppers to use a list to avoid overbuying and unnecessary extras;
• Cook just right, where we prepare only the amount you need by checking servings and appetites; and
• Save room for seconds, where smaller portions are served first so extras can be enjoyed later instead of wasted.
The competition, which is now open, closes on Friday 28 November, with winners announced on Monday 15 December. The winning designs will hit the road on Council's waste trucks in February 2026, ready to turn heads across the community for the next year.
Mayor of Camden, Cr Therese Fedeli, said the competition was art with a purpose.
"Kids have an amazing talent for thinking outside the box - in this case, the lunchbox," she said. "This competition is a fun way to mix creativity with the important message that wasting less is a beautiful thing.
"We want everyone to know that small actions at home can make a big dent in Australia's food waste mountain. And what better way to do that than have it displayed in a fun way, travelling around the Camden area?"
Two winning designs will be chosen to wrap one waste truck, which will then roll through Camden streets as giant moving murals for a whole year - talk about making a clean sweep of the art scene!
Council has provided local teachers with a fun-filled resource pack, which includes lesson plans, activity sheets and kid-friendly info, so students are able to brush up on the food waste facts before this competition launches next week.
Sharpen those pencils, there's no time to waste! For more information on this competition, and to submit your entry from Monday 27 October, visit https://www.camden.nsw.gov.au/waste/school-waste-and-education-services/the-garbage-gallery-waste-truck-art-competition
