Rozina Suliman, Reverse Garbage
Our challenge is to shift the way that people think about waste ...
Those who have found themselves weaving through the aisles of not-for-profit co-op Reverse Garbage will understand the sense of excitement and wonder that strikes when one stumbles upon a barrel brimming with plaster teeth moulds, the lower halves of exposed mannequins and offcuts of plastic and leather. For some of us, the Woolloongabba warehouse is a toy box full of materials and muses, but for Brisbane director Rozina Suliman, it’s her daily office. As PR and HR coordinator, as well as co-op secretary, Rozina’s workdays are filled with taking inspired action to help motivate Brisbane locals to live more sustainably. The Weekend Edition popped in to the Reverse Garbage warehouse this week to snitch a little eco inspiration from the ever-smiling Rozina.
If you could broadcast one message about recycling to the residents of Brisbane, what would it be?
Just to stop, look and think before you throw things away, even in the recycling bin. Almost anything can become something else with a bit of lateral thinking!
How did you first get involved with Reverse Garbage?
My first visit to Reverse Garbage was with my year 12 art class, just after it opened, in 1999. I loved the place from the moment I walked into it, mostly for finding interesting stuff for art purposes. Later on, my artwork took a more environmental direction and I began actively trying to source sustainable products to back up the environmental messages contained within the work and to reduce my own impact. Reverse Garbage just seemed like a natural progression.
What are some of the most interesting materials you’ve seen pop up on the Reverse Garbage shelves?
Plaster teeth moulds are a fairly consistent item but always hilarious, giant pink sparkly bells that made their way to a cow paddock along the D’Aguilar Highway, microfiche, big springs, a giant prop bucket of fries made from polystyrene (don’t know who bought that or why?), a playground koala and ex-First Aid dummies. Something interesting comes in pretty much every week!
What are some of your personal favourite creations that you’ve seen emerge from materials found at Reverse Garbage?
I really enjoyed making giant parade puppets with the Ipswich community for the Ipswich Festival street parade a couple of years ago! We made a dream beast, story tree, robot and dragon. The Reverse Emporium up-cycled giftshop and gallery, which is housed within the Reverse Garbage warehouse, also boasts a constant stream of beautiful, clever and handmade creations by a range of local artists, craftworkers and designers. My favourites in there at the moment are the Pirates Dreaming spoon handle rings, Aly de Groot ties that are hand dyed using locally harvested plant material, Flight Paths for Paper Birds paper mache bead necklaces and Clone Designs screen-printed wooden hangers that use bullet cases instead of hooks.
For those who aren’t familiar with Reverse Garbage, can you please tell us a bit about the group and its key objectives?
Reverse Garbage promotes environmental sustainability and resource reuse. We reduce the amount of useful materials going to waste in Brisbane’s landfills by collecting a range of factory offcuts, discards and misprints, as well as retail seconds and donations from the public. Reverse Garbage provides consumers with access to salvaged materials as well as educates on the benefits of reuse. Our challenge is to shift the way that people think about waste!
As a not-for-profit worker-run cooperative, what are the biggest challenges that Reverse Garbage faces?
Unfortunately, most boil down to a lack of time and money. At times, it’s also challenging working in a non-hierarchical environment alongside six other directors because when we enter the workforce, we’re conditioned to be comfortable in hierarchical environments. So, you’re not only shifting the way you think about waste but also the way you think about business. Reverse Garbage is certainly the most interesting, challenging and rewarding environment I’ve worked in.
Reverse Garbage practises what it preaches in terms of sustainability. Can you share some of the ways the group minimises its ecological footprint?
Our purchasing policy is a good example. As a first step it prompts you to think about whether the purchase is really necessary, then to try and source secondhand or from within the warehouse. Where this isn’t possible – such as for consumable items like coffee and toilet paper – we source from not-for-profit, locally owned and operated businesses who stock fairtrade or local products. Stopping and thinking about consumption is a really great exercise and I’ve found I practise this approach in my personal life as well. It takes some time to develop the habit and you do need to do some research, but the outcome is better all round.
Reverse Garbage runs a bunch of environment- and waste-focused workshops for locals – what can you tell us about the classes coming up this month?
We’re trying a range of new themes in our adult workshop program this year and have also opened them up to include teenagers. They’ve been proving very popular! Wooden Geometric Necklace Making is coming up later in the month; it’s a new workshop that will involve designing and creating your own necklace using salvaged wood offcuts.
Who are some local thinkers and makers we should be supporting?
Independent local artists, designers, performance makers, dancers, choreographers, musicians and creatives and organisations with a social and environmental conscience, such as Blackstar Coffee, 4ZZZ, Food Connect, Friends of the Earth, Anywhere Theatre Festival, BrisStyle and of course the wonderful and very talented Reverse Emporium stockists – of which there are too many to list!
You also freelance as a set designer; do you see a lot of wastage in the industry?
Yes, but that’s also part of the challenge – to filter reuse into everything you do in creative ways and to give people the information and means to make decisions to reuse themselves. In my set design work, I try to source as much as possible secondhand, to reuse and to up-cycle. It’s rarely possible to purchase nothing new, especially consumables, however it is possible to drastically reduce the number of new purchases. There are also some very well-known venues in the industry that donate to Reverse Garbage, so that always makes me feel a bit better.
What influences and inspires your work?
Our natural environment, connections and collaborations.
What is worth fighting for?
Forests, oceans, other beautiful natural spaces, creativity and compassion.
What’s your idea of complete happiness?
Sitting in a beautiful natural place and just staring at everything around me. Playing in and watching other people interact with my little art worlds. Playing with my favourite little people – my gorgeous little niece and nephew.
What’s the last thing that made you smile?
I laugh a lot, so I’ve probably smiled at least a dozen times already today. I also have an overactive imagination and tend to amuse myself, so I probably smiled or laughed about something that was really not all that interesting to anyone else … Other people’s quirks also constantly amuse me.
What words of wisdom can you share?
Dream big, work hard and do everything with passion! But make sure you allow yourself some down time, some time in nature and some time to play. I’m still trying to teach myself to take time out because I have workaholic tendencies!
Only a Brisbane local would know that … if you like plants, Mount Coot-tha Botanic Gardens is really cool! There’s also a great hill to roll down at Anzac Park in Toowong, and the best place to find quirky and salvaged stuff is Reverse Garbage!
FAVOURITE WEEKEND SPOT TO:
Perk up … Glass Bar or The Bowery, Fortitude Valley.
Relax … wandering around art galleries or forests by myself.
Dine … casual dining at Tibetan Kitchen, Fortitude Valley and fancy dining somewhere like Saké at Eagle Street Pier, Brisbane City.
Indulge … with my family in one of our houses. We all love to cook fancy feasts … and then enjoy them!
Shop … Reverse Garbage, Woolloongabba.
Catch-up … for breakfast usually somewhere in West End.
Be inspired … Gallery of Modern Art at South Bank, Brisbane Powerhouse in New Farm, Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts in Fortitude Valley or anywhere else that has thought-provoking art or an interesting performance …