For those who have recently arrived in Australia, the concept of "hard rubbish collection" may seem strange. A few times a year, local city councils announce that residents can leave large unwanted objects on the nature strip outside their residences — anything that doesn't fit normal bins like pieces of furniture and appliances.
But is it really "junk"?
Leonardo Urbano, a young Italian who has been living in Sydney since the last few years, began to browse through these discarded objects with the intention of trying to "save them", finding amongst them some small treasures.
He now documents his recovery work on social media, where he has nicknamed himself "The Trash Lawyer".
Leonardo calls himself so because by "saving" objects that are still usable, he defends their right to exist and puts them back into circulation either by giving them away online or by selling them off to fund his recycling business.
Leonardo with a bicycle he found in 'trash'. Credit: Supplied by Leonardo Urbano
"From microwaves to blenders, plates, cups — basically things that are thrown away because people want a new model. But most of them are products that could still be saved", Leonardo tells SBS Italian.
I have often managed to furnish my flat at zero costLeonardo Urbano
"From then on, I decided to find them, put them aside, give them to charity, to try to save as much as possible and avoid unnecessary waste," he adds.
According to the National Waste Report 2020, every person in Australia produced an average of 2.94 tonnes of waste in 2018/19. Of this, 60 per cent is recycled, but the government's goal is to reach 80 per cent by 2030.
Rescuing functioning objects from landfill could help reduce waste, says Leonardo.
Amongst the objects discarded on the street, he found an Italian coffee maker made in Milan in the 1960s, called the Atomic Coffee Machine.
The 1960s coffee machine Leonardo found on the street. Credit: Sandra Fulloon SBS
Another lucky find was a painting by a three-time Archibald Prize finalist Dapeng Liu.
"Someone decided to throw it away, and it's a work of art worth a few thousand dollars," Leonardo says.
Mr Urbani with an artwork by Archibald Prize finalist Dapeng Liu that he found trashed on the street. Credit: Supplied by Dapeng Liu
He most frequently finds vacuum cleaners of expensive brands and bicycles.
"More than 30 this year alone," he adds.
"People buy them, use them for a season, leave them in their balconies in the winter. The bike may rust a bit and it's then thrown away. But a simple clean with a little water and vinegar and a stainless steel scourer does the trick," Leonardo says.
For Leonardo, the fact that so many functional or easily repairable objects are thrown away, is an indication of the consumerism that characterises society.
I fight for the rights of trash, to save it from landfill.Leonardo Urbano
"In Italy, it seems to me that we have a better idea about maintaining quality objects," Leonardo says, adding that he hopes to turn his hobby into a job in the future.
But for the moment, he is simply happy to cultivate what he calls "his passion" — fighting waste, one rescued object at a time.
