TALK about making a purse out of a sow’s ear, or in this case, a violin, a harpsichord, guitar or a designer table crafted out of rejected timber pallets.
Ward Petherbridge, owner of Lyndhurst recycling depot Waste Converters, has long noticed some of the good-quality timbers used in pallets and crates, particularly from the US and Europe.
That thought grew into an international woodworkers prize ‘Create from a Crate’.
After a six-year break, the competition has been recycled, offering a $7000 prize pool. It’s one of the most generous woodworking awards in Australia.
Woodworkers and furniture designers have 12 months to assemble a masterpiece out of four pallets. Mr Petherbridge says about 94 per cent of pallets at his depot becomes mulch. But much of the 500,000 tonnes of annual timber waste in Victoria is not utilised and is dumped in landfill.
Mr Petherbridge has been astonished by the entries in the past, snapping up some of his favourites such as a coffee table with a timber ibis mounted atop.
To enter, go to wasteconverters.com.au.
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