Repurpose It - Living with purpose: 2026 Behaviour Change and Education Finalist

Repurpose It runs a resource recovery facility in Epping, but its Living with Purpose program is really about changing minds before it changes bins.

The Melbourne operator built a web series fronted by sustainability advocate Jamie Durie to explain FOGO (Food Organics Garden Organics) recycling, then backed it up with incursions, excursions and site tours for schools, kindergartens and libraries across the region. This year alone: 4,000 families reached through Early Learning Centre programs across 80 centres, 600 families through library storytime sessions, 76 site tours, and eight whole-school plant outs involving more than 1,200 students.

The shift, according to Repurpose It, was moving from simply informing people about the waste stream to actually equipping schools, councils and community groups to run their own FOGO journeys, a train-the-trainer approach that outlasts any single incursion. It's paid off: the program won the Community Contribution Award at the City of Whittlesea Business Awards, and Repurpose It's education team now delivers keynote presentations at organics and waste industry conferences.

The X-factor is reach without dilution. From an online web series with millions of views to hands-on workshops for toddlers and teenagers alike, the program meets people wherever they are in figuring out what actually happens to their food scraps, and why it matters.

Meet all the finalists here: https://www.kabvic.org.au/post/meet-the-2026-tidy-towns-and-cities-sustainability-awards-finalists

#TidyTowns #KeepAustraliaBeautifulVic #Epping #FOGO