NO WASTE ON COUNTRY – LEAVING ONLY FOOTPRINTS
Project Coordinator – Janelle Randall Court
In November 2010 a film produced and directed by Bundjalung woman Janelle Randall-Court called No Waste On Country, Leaving Only Footprints was made in collaboration with the Blue Mountains Aboriginal Culture and Resource Centre.
The film was a collection of stories based on Janelle’s passion regarding waste in her local area of the Blue Mountains N.S.W. Australia.
The film included many local Blue Mountains Aboriginal and Non- Aboriginal community members including the Blue Mountains National Parks and Wildlife Service.
No Waste on Country Leaving Only Footprints showcased the efforts of local community using Art, Culture and education to bring the issue of Waste on Country to a larger community.
The Blue Mountains Aboriginal Culture and Resource Centre have copies for sale to the general public and it is Janelle’s’ hope that it will be a valuable resource for schools, TAFE colleges and other Aboriginal Communities around Australia.
Janelle has had a long history of collecting peoples household waste, either from her younger days of gathering usable items from council throw-outs in the 1970’s/1980’s with her dad in Beverly Hills (South West of Sydney) or in her adult years visiting waste management facilities in Tasmania and Northern N.S.W.
Janelle has always been excited and sadly disappointed at the amount of usable waste found in landfill around the country. It was after a house fire that Janelle found herself wondering if she should do something to raise awareness of this unnecessary amount of waste ending up in landfill.
On returning to the Blue Mountains after her house fire in Tasmania, Janelle and her daughter were told by a friend that they could find clothes and other useful household items at the local waste management facility in Katoomba N.S.W.
After seeing the huge amount of usable and recyclable items at the tip, Janelle’s’ passion and creativity soon grew.
Janelle developed TIPP WEAR, a fashion show of recovered garments and accessories found in landfill, cleaned up and put on the catwalk.
TIPP WEAR fashion quickly grew into other projects, including TIPP WARES, home wares and TIPP TEDDIES – unloved and discarded Teddy Bears sent to land fill.
Although Janelle was excited about these projects, Janelle had to help the public to overcome their fears of waste and germs that we connect with landfill issues.
Janelle often argues the fact that while the public are usually comfortable with buying discarded items from Op-Shops, where the public can’t be sure of where and who their purchased items come from, the same applies to the items gathered from landfill.
Either way Janelle sees the value of reusing items whether from Op-shops or Re-use sheds at landfill sites, it will inevitably have the same outcome, which will all contribute to reducing landfill in the end.
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