FROM TRASH TO TREASURE
MANY PEOPLE ARE FINDING SOLID GOLD AT SUNSHINE COAST TIPS

You don't have to be broke, destitute or homeless to get a kick out of scavenging throughother people's rubbish at Sunshine Coast tips. Just ask sports identity and Daily columnist Ashley Robinson. Mr Robinson's Saturday trip to the Caloundra tip - better known as the Resource Recovery Centre - is one of the highlights of his week, and it has nothing to do with his bank balance.

The adventure is something he has taken immense pleasure in since he was a youngster growing up in the 1950s and '60s. My two favourite destinations were the dump and the spare parts car yard,' he said. Decades later, visiting the tip remains a tradition in the Robinson household.

"The dump is more of an outing than anything else, 'Mr Robinson said. "I'm a bit of a people-watcher, and I like watching the different people who go. "All types go. You get the people who go buy it and resell it and then you get the people like us who go buy fur a bit of adventure, and there are also the others who go because they can't afford anywhere else. "There is a great cross-section of people".

As many as 200 people crowd the gates of the Pierce Avenue Resource Recovery Centre every Saturday morning to be first to find bargain goodies. Recycling manager Richard Conachey said it was amazing what people gave away that could be sold. As an example of the variety of goods on offer, visitors to last Saturday's market had an opportunity to pick up outdoor settings, electrical goods, sporting equipment, pool fencing, old tools, screen doors, barbecues, dog kennels and bris-a-brac at bargain prices.

All of the goods were discarded by their owners and Mr Conachey couldn't help but reflect on the huge waste. "You see some of the items that come through and you have to wonder why anyone would throw them out, because they are in such good condition," he said. "It is sad when you see the quality of some things. Right now, I'm looking at push bikes that would be about $300 or $400 machines that have been thrown out now that the kids have grown up. "It's not just the public (that throws out good stuff). Industry does it as well. "We have car dealers and workshops that are getting rid of stock, so we will get brand new auto parts". "Things that you might pay hundreds of dollars for in the shop would end up as landfill."

The bright side was that valuable items that would otherwise have been taking up space as landfill could now be sold, Mr Conachey said. Money raised from the sale of goods hasn't just helped keep ratepayers' bills down - a board indicates charities which have benefited. "The 2005 tsunami appeal received $50,000, the Currimundi Special School hydrotherapy pool received $30,000, the Queensland Premier Cyclone Relief Appeal received $25,000 - these are just some of the people on the list," Mr Conachey said.

The big benefit most people didn't appreciate was the volume of material that would have been using space in landfill, which was at a premium, he said. Noosa's Resource Recovery Centre, next to its tip, is also a popular venue for bargain hunters keen to pick up discarded rubbish or take advantage of the revitalised products made by the unemployed who work there. Caloundra and Noosa both have workshops attached to their tips, which are used to transform broken pieces of furniture into items of value. Tips in the former Maroochy council area also have shops attached to them, but are not yet up to the standard of Caloundra and Noosa.

Council spokesman Gary Reeves said the Sunshine Coast Regional Counsil was working towards improving the shops at Buderim, Nambour & Coolum. As for Mr Robinson, most often the "reasures" icked up one weekend end up as rubbish back at the tip a few weekends later. But he has scored a few items that are family favourites.

"The dead-set highlight is the $12 frying pan with a glass lid. It was like brand new and it is my wife's pride and joy at the moment," he said. "She found it about a month ago and she was like a dog on a bone when she saw it. It is the most used thing in the house." His favourite, a picture of Seinfield's Cosmo Kramer, he was made to take back. "Someone got something good there," he said.