An 11-year-old Noosa boy who transformed a discarded timber pallet into a working wheelbarrow has set the bar for this year’s Reviva Reuse Competition, with organisers now calling on residents to submit their own repair and repurposing projects before entries close in November.
The 2026 competition, run by not-for-profit social enterprise Resource Recovery Australia, offers a $300 national prize and a $200 Noosa prize for the best examples of reused, repaired or repurposed materials.
Entries are free and close on Sunday 15 November 2026, the final day of National Recycling Week.
The competition is open to anyone who has repaired, restored, repurposed or transformed an item using reused materials, spanning furniture, artwork, garden projects, home improvements, clothing makeovers or other creative builds.
While the competition welcomes entries of all kinds, past winners point to a growing overlap between reuse culture and the construction sector, where timber, metal fittings and other offcuts are increasingly being diverted from landfill and given new purpose.
Timber pallets, a common byproduct of building supply chains, feature prominently among the materials entrants have salvaged.
Last year’s Noosa prize went to 11-year-old Gene Young, who built a functional wheelbarrow from a timber pallet found on the roadside, using a saw purchased from the Reviva Tip Shop.
“I built this wheelbarrow from a timber pallet I found on the side of the road,” Gene said.
His project used basic construction techniques and secondhand tools to turn building-industry waste into a practical, everyday item, an approach organisers say has resonance for tradespeople and DIY builders alike.
Resource Recovery Australia’s Deputy General Manager Ally Glendenning said entries did not need to be elaborate to qualify, and encouraged residents working with reclaimed building materials to consider submitting their projects.
“If you have repaired something, given an old item a makeover or found a new use for materials that might otherwise have been thrown away, you already have an entry,” said Glendenning.
The 2025 national prize was awarded to Mike Tikkeros for a true-to-size violin sculpture built entirely from salvaged metal and household fittings, including nuts, washers and hooks recovered from gurneys, bicycles, microwaves and food processors.
The instrument’s neck was formed from a halved pipe, while its strings were made from stainless steel wire salvaged from an old balcony, a detail that speaks directly to the reuse of architectural and structural components.
Parts from a drum kit, golf club and horse bridle rounded out the piece.
Now in its seventh year, the Reviva Reuse Competition has drawn entries from across Australia, including repurposed clothing, furniture makeovers, mosaic art, garden creations and entire kitchens built from salvaged materials.
For the construction sector, where offcuts, fittings and demolition materials often end up in landfill, organisers say the competition offers a small but visible reminder of how much value can be recovered before materials are discarded.
To enter, participants can submit a photo of their project along with a short description of what they created and the materials they reused at www.resourcerecovery.org.au/competition.
Entries are free and close on Sunday 15 November 2026.
