- Damian Gordon, 36, always wanted to buy his own home, but his dream felt out of reach
- Then he realised he could make extra cash by recycling bottles and cans
- Seven years later, he had enough to put a deposit on a two-bedroom house
Here Damian tells his story in his own words
Walking along the beach, I spotted a plastic bottle floating in the waves.
Scooping it up, I placed it in my backpack with the other rubbish I’d collected on my way.
Every little bit counts, I thought.
Working in the health industry, after a long week of shift work, I looked forward to unwinding with a stroll along the beach.
But it was impossible to ignore all the rubbish left behind by other beach-goers. Plastic bottles and cans – even fishing gear – were scattered across the shoreline.
I can’t leave it like this, I decided.
Returning to the beach as often as I could, I made it my mission to collect the rubbish during my walk.
By the time I’d strolled from one end to the other, my backpack was overflowing.
Back home I researched online, and was horrified to learn about the impact litter was having on our oceans.
With about eight million tonnes of plastic ending up in the sea each year, marine animals are swallowing more plastic than ever before.
Out in the ocean, plastic is deadly. Sea creatures such as turtles ingest plastic bags they mistake for jellyfish, and seabirds become entangled in discarded fishing line.
As the plastic makes its way up the food chain and onto our plates, we humans may ingest up to five grams of plastic every week – that’s the same as the weight of a credit card!
Hoping to turn the tide on plastic pollution, I signed up as a volunteer for Clean Up Australia events throughout the year.
A keen musician, when not volunteering, I was learning how to DJ and loved performing. With a couple of other musos, I organised a music festival, Mountain Sounds, which debuted in March 2014 on the Central Coast, NSW, where I lived.
After a few years, I swapped from being a performer to waste manager of the event, leaving the other talented musicians to entertain the crowd while I focused on the clean up.
With the help of 30 volunteers, we collected drink cans, empty beer tinnies and plastic bottles.
For those with strong stomachs, we also had the tedious job of separating the recyclables from the regular bins of rubbish destined for landfill.
‘Thanks for doing what you do,’ festival-goers praised us.
‘Just doing our part,’ I replied.
By the end of our event in 2017, the team had collected around 40,000 bottles and cans.
After separating them into aluminium, plastic and glass, I piled what I could fit into the back of my car, and drove them to the local recycling plant.
Receiving a 10 cent refund per item, I was amazed to walk away with a whopping $4000 for our recycling efforts.
Not bad for one event, I thought, chuffed.
That’s when I came up with a wild idea.
‘I’m going to recycle my way to a house deposit,’ I told my mum, Helen.
A semi-retired nurse midwife, Mum had been a keen recycler my whole life, teaching me the importance of looking after the environment even when I was a young boy.
Whether we were searching for school shoes at the op-shop or rummaging through council clean-up piles, there was always a treasure to be found.
Now, living in Mum’s granny flat, I was grateful to have a roof over my head, but I dreamed of one day owning a house.
However the idea always felt too far out of reach.
So when I told Mum about my plan, she had a grin from ear to ear.
‘That’s a great idea!’ she encouraged.
Mum even volunteered to help me on my quest.
With music festivals few and far between, I needed to find other events to volunteer at.
With news of my side gig spreading around town, people began contacting me with their upcoming events.
‘I’m getting married in the park. Would you like to tackle the recycling for us?’ one woman asked.
‘It’s my daughter’s birthday down at the beach at the weekend,’ said another.
Before I knew it, my weekends were booked out. I even had locals collecting bottles and donating them to me.
Then in December 2017, the container deposit return scheme, Return and Earn, was introduced.
With the recycling process easier, I made a trip to the local container deposit once a month.
Opening a separate savings account, I began depositing all my recycling money into it.
Cashing in load after load, I pocketed upwards of $400 a time.
I can’t believe I’ve bought a house with rubbish
Each dollar went towards my goal to save for a house deposit.
Within three years I’d saved $20,000. It spurred me on to keep going.
For the next five years, whenever I clocked off work, I’d go around the area picking up discarded bottles and cans.
And on weekends, I’d cash in my collection at the local depot.
In January this year, after seven years of saving, I’d reached $45,000 in hard earned recycled cash.
Combining it with the rest of my savings, I put a deposit down on a two-bedroom house.
I can’t believe I’ve bought a house with rubbish, I beamed.
‘This is a dream come true,’ I told Mum.
‘I knew you could do it,’ she cheered.
After getting the keys, I furnished my place with treasures I’d found off the street, including a fridge, microwave, juicer and a bed frame.
With mortgage repayments coming hard and fast, I don’t plan to stop collecting any time soon. Now I’m paying off my dream home, one bottle at a time.
