Leonardo Urbano's Sydney apartment is decorated with an array of vintage items, many collected from council clean ups. From sewing machines to sideboards, he has worked hard to restore them to their former glory.
Boiling a pot of coffee on the stove, he recalls finding this valuable coffee machine discarded on the side of the road.
"At first, I wasn't sure what it was. Then I saw a flash of metal, and realised it was a coffee machine," he tells SBS.
"It just needed a clean, it was in perfect condition. All the pieces were there."
In fact, the Atomic Coffee Machine was made in Milan in Italy in the 1960s and is now worth up to $1,000.
Leonardo Urbano's recovered coffee machine Credit: SBS / Sandra Fulloon
Leonardo, also known as the 'Trash Lawyer', is among a growing number in the community finding ways to reduce the amount sent to landfill.
He has recovered hundreds of items since he migrated to Australia from Italy in 2014.
"I am fighting for the rights of trash to live another day," he says.
Among the many treasures, a painting by Beijing born Sydney-based artist Dapeng Liu, who is a three-time Archibald finalist.
"I saw it, and I really liked it. When I got home I googled the [artist's] name, as I could see it was an original," Leonardo explains.
"He told me it was a gift and was sad that it had ended up on the street. So I told him I would treasure it as if it was a gift to me."
Leonardo is among those helping to recycle more of the three tonnes of waste produced annually by every Australian.
RecycleSmart is a Sydney based venture co-founded by Marco Prayer, who migrated from Florence in Italy.
RecycleSmart co-founder Marco Prayer Credit: SBS / Sandra Fulloon
"We take care of all those items that are hard to recycle and we make sure they end up where they will get recycled in the most sustainable way," Mr Prayer says.
RecycleSmart has diverted around 300,000 recyclables from landfill since it started operating three years ago, he says.
In Melbourne, tonnes of household waste including tins of paint, mattresses and used batteries ends up at the Port Phillip Resource and Recovery Centre.
Port Phillip Mayor Marcus Pearl reports a 20 per cent rise in waste since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Port Phillip Mayor Marcus Pearl Credit: SBS / Magica Fossati
"For example last year we collected more than 5,000 mattresses from our community and those mattresses were recycled through a community business.
"People are now aware if they have a spare televisions, vacuum cleaners, heaters or radios those items can all be recycled."
Councils are rolling out new schemes for organic and food waste as well as glass and plastics, to help meet national targets of an 80 per cent reduction in waste sent to landfill by 2030.
"Every tonne we can divert from landfill is a good outcome," Cr Pearl says.
Paint tins ready to be recycled Credit: SBS / Magica Fossati
However, others are calling for policy changes to follow the lead set by European countries including Italy and France.
"Europeans have a better concept of goods and their value," says Gayle Sloan, CEO of Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association of Australia.
"In France, retailers display the total cost of disposal on the shelf, so customers know the true life cost. And that is what we need," she says.
A vintage sewing machine recovered by Leonardo Urbano Credit: SBS / Sandra Fulloon
"We need to buy less and buy things that are made to last longer. And we need to change the paradigm towards using what we have and keep it circulation for longer," she says.
For waste crusaders like Leonardo Urbano, who works in hospitality and spends his free time scouring the streets for valuables, reducing landfill is one priority.
Another goal is supporting the community.
"I've decided to give away as much as I can, because I want to help people," he says.
It's a sentiment he hopes to inspire in others.
"I will love if the council can get involved, and perhaps find a space where I can put all those items and maybe people could come and get something they want."
