Parkes Shire Council is excited to be hosting the Waste 2 Art Regional Competition and Exhibition on show now in the Coventry Room.

More than 120 winning artworks from the 14 councils, ranging from Broken Hill to Lithgow, that participated in this year's Waste 2 Art will be on exhibit.

Waste 2 Art is a community art exhibition and competition open to all residents of the NetWaste region, showcasing creative works made from reused waste materials.

The aim is to challenge peoples' perceptions about 'rubbish' and to celebrate the reuse and recycling of waste through arts and crafts.

Mayor of Parkes Shire, Cr Neil Westcott, highlighted the importance of the event.

"Hosting the Waste 2 Art Regional Competition and Exhibition is a fantastic opportunity for Parkes Shire to showcase the incredible creativity and innovation of our community. This event not only outlines the importance of recycling and waste reduction but also demonstrates how art can inspire and educate. We are proud to support an initiative that turns 'rubbish' into remarkable works of art," he said.

Waste 2 Art provides an innovative approach to waste education, invites 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. Over the years many materials have been used, items like soft plastics, tin cans, bottle tops, plastic bags, parts from rusty farm machinery, scrap metal, and bread tags. The options are limitless. Instead of ending up in landfill, these waste materials can be turned into incredible works of art.

This competition gives aspiring and professional artists the chance to explore and share their "waste reduction message".

A specific waste item is featured as part of Waste to Art each round to highlight problem issues, and this year is the Year of Packaging.

The overall winning entry in the Regional Waste to Art Competition was Michelle Hazleton's Entemology Collection.

Michelle's entry was in the scrap metal and packaging - Open 3 Dimensional - entered through Parkes Shire Council.

She asked, "Where have all the Christmas beetles gone?

"The Australian Scarab beetles generally feed on eucalyptus leaves. Their larvae feed on roots of grasses, presumably native grasses.

"With the beetle's former habitat now a brick, concrete and tarmac jungle, this collection was captured within that jungle."

The beetles were made mostly from aluminium drink cans, Moccona jars, yoghurt lids, avocado packaging and framed within a recycled op shop picture frame.

Michelle was the joint winner last year in the open 3D category with 'Hare today, gone tomorrow".

Other Parkes Shire regional winners were:

• Creative repair, restore and refurbish (equal first): Christine Somers 'Swan'
• Secondary 3D: Beau Longhurst 'The Woodcutters'
• Community Functional: Beryl Twardy 'From Moths to Mondrian'
• Student Participation Award: Parkes Christian School K-2 'The Majestic Puppet Theatre'
• Herb Clarke Memorial Award and Sims Metal Award (equal first): John Grady 'Therapy'

Parkes Shire highly commended included:

• Open 3D: Michelle Hazelton 'Bird on a biscuit tin'
• Community 3D: Kay and Warren Gardiner 'Enjoying the Sunshine'
• Community 3D: Max Davison 'Seeing Red'
• Open Functional: Deb Jones and Helen Standen 'Take the weight off'