“Slam dunk your junk” is the new motto displayed on two of Sutherland Shire Council’s newly refurbished skate parks in Engadine and Menai.
The council has sourced old, unused and damaged bins from its waste depot and let staff use their skills and expertise to create a fun new way to keep our skate parks clean.
The new bins started life as council silver box bins found in all Sutherland Shire central business districts.
But have now been topped with a wide chute to act as a hoop and net, capturing and directing the rubbish down into the bin with a backboard to catch shots on the rebound.
Sutherland Shire Mayor Carmelo Pesce said the council has recently pioneered a number of new programs and both Menai and Engadine skate parks.
The re-design, refurbishment and painting work at the Menai skate park involved extensive consultation with the young skating community, with the assistance to Project Youth.
It was all about delivering a final product young people in the area could love, be proud of and call their own, Cr Pesce said.
This cooperation with the council continued in recent months at Menai and Engadine skate parks with the design and painting of the new murals.
Brainstorming nights and volunteer weekends saw young skaters work alongside established artists ‘Mistery’ and ‘Phibs’ to add a bright and gnarly flair to the fresh new skate bowls at both locations.
“The passion and love of our young skating community has been reflected on all these facilities and they have shown their gratitude by respecting the sites and doing their best to assist council in maintaining them,” Cr Pesce said.
“By recycling these old bins we were able to come up with a low cost and fun solution to waste
disposal around our skate parks, which we will continue to monitor to gauge its effectiveness.”
If successful, the new bins may soon be placed at all of the council’s other skate parks in Greenhills, Woronora Heights and Bundeena, as part of Council’s environmental strategy to combat waste.
