Did you know that only four per cent of Australians reuse plastic shopping bags and that supermarket bags are used only 18 minutes on average before being thrown away?

It only takes a creative eye to turn waste like this into art; scrap metal horses, rabbits made from packing foam and a plastic bottle train are just a few of the imaginative examples previously received in the annual Waste to Art prize.

Initiated by NetWaste who has a reach across almost 40 per cent per cent of the state, including every Shire Council in the Western Plains region, this year's theme is textiles and fast fashion. So, it's time to put on your thinking cap and look at rubbish from a totally different perspective.

The main advice from NetWaste is to not get caught up in using the theme material.

"It is not essential to use the theme material (textiles for 2023) to enter Waste 2 Art, any waste product can be used to create your artwork," a spokesperson said.

Individual competitions can be held in each Shire, aiming to engage the community. The regional exhibition then showcases local Shire winners from throughout the region. The exhibition is hosted by a different council each year, this year sees Blayney Shire hosting the final event in July. Winners of local competitions will have their artworks transported to Blayney courtesy of sponsor, Sims Metal.

While not all Shire Council's may choose to be involved, Lachlan Shire Council is one group pleased to announce its continued involvement in the Waste 2 Art competition.

"Waste 2 Art provides an innovative approach to waste education, and an invitation is extended to individuals, schools, and community groups to take up the challenge and create a new life for materials that would otherwise have been thrown away or considered useless," a council spokesperson said.

Lachlan Shire Council Mayor, Councillor John Medcalf OAM is also enthusiastic about the idea.

“Waste 2 Art gives people the chance to explore and share their waste reduction message, and is a wonderful opportunity for the entire Lachlan Shire community to showcase their creativity," he said. "The competition challenges peoples’ perceptions about ‘rubbish’ and celebrates the reuse and recycling of waste through arts and crafts.”

Annabelle Harris of Coonamble won the 2022 Curator's Award with her work entitled "Totem Pole"

Local winners from last year came from across the Western Plains including Bogan, Coonamble and Lachlan.

Taking out some major awards were Nyngan's Men's Shed, winning the Herb Clarke Memorial Award with "Like New -Table and Chairs" and Annabelle Harris from Coonamble who won the Curator's Award with "Totem Pole."

Nyngan Men’s Shed supervisor Dennis Callaghan said the table, which initially came into their shed as an oval shape and was transformed to a round table, along with the four refurbished chairs were auctioned at the Nyngan Ag Expo to raise more funds for their other projects.

Tables and chairs were given a new life and earned a prize for Nyngan Men's Shed.

The overall winner in 2022 winner Heather Snitch from Bathurst with "Plastic doesn’t grow on trees", a creation made of crocheted bread bags.

"I crocheted with yarn made of strips cut from bread bags," Ms Snitch said. "No waste was generated as the offcuts that I could not use were used as stuffing. The only new material was a bit of wood for the frame inside, it needed to be stabilised to stand up like a tree. I have never crocheted a 3D tree, so the whole way along I did not know how it would turn out."

Ms Snitch said she was incredibly pleased with the result.

"The organic shape came out beautifully. I needed hundreds of bread bags. Each crochet row from the base of the tree is a new bag. I sourced these from friends and colleagues, as well as my own household."

There is no direct entry for the competition and so local shire councils should be contacted directly to find out their plans for any local events.