Celebrate Recycling Week at Fishermans Bend’s Circular Design Collective

Melburnians are invited to celebrate creativity, sustainability and community at the Circular Design Collective Open Day, held on Sunday, November 16 in Fishermans Bend.

Hosted by FB IDEAs and supported by Gamuda Land Australia, the free family-friendly event will take place from 12pm to 3pm on Munro St, opposite 80, between Montague and Johnson streets in South Melbourne.

Coinciding with National Recycling Week, the event will showcase the ingenuity of local makers turning waste into wonder – from paper made of offcuts and inks created from print cartridge scraps to musical instruments crafted from reclaimed piano materials.

Housed in a once-vacant warehouse now transformed into a thriving creative hub, the Circular Design Collective brings together Melbourne’s leading innovators in circular design and sustainable making. On the day, visitors can explore studio tours, live demonstrations, and art displays, while enjoying coffee from Killara Coffee Cart and a classic Men’s Shed BBQ.

Participating studios include Dodgy Paper, Lousy Ink, Precious Plastic Melbourne, No Bull Cause, Artists for Kids Culture, After and Pianos Recycled, each showcasing how design can close the loop on waste.

“We’re creating a living lab for circular design, a place where waste becomes a starting point, not an endpoint,” said Kate Spencer, general manager at FB IDEAs. “The Circular Design Collective is proof that community, creativity and sustainability can coexist beautifully – and the Open Day is our invitation for everyone to be part of that story.”

FB IDEAs, supported by the Victorian Government, is driving experimental urban renewal projects within Fishermans Bend. Visitors of all ages are encouraged to join the celebration, meet the makers and learn how creative reuse is reshaping Melbourne’s future.

For more information: fbideas.org •