craft

War on waste: Recycling denim into paper

Paperworks is a not-for-profit social enterprise that uses the art of papermaking to engage marginalised people and those with special needs.

"We were using cardboard and recycled paper in the first few sessions but it was unforgiving and had lacklustre results," chief executive Susanna Pieterse said.

"We started looking into using textiles and became aware of the great need to recycle textiles — more than 80 per cent of denim actually ends up in landfill.

"We found the longer fibres of textiles helped the paper hold together better.

Weaving wonders to recycle single-use coffee cups

"I just thought we should have a very simple system to teach people how to weave," she said.

One billion single-use coffee cups are thrown out in Australia each year, equalling more than 60,000 kilograms in waste.

By taking a discarded cup and cutting lines from the lips to the base, the cup makes the perfect frame to weave weeds into a bowl.

"It's a quick way of making a little vessel or basket using a coffee cup and a few natural materials," Ms Cantrill said.