Bag of opportunities: Jobs4Josh pairs with Garbutt 10c depot

Clean-up hero Joshua Gaw has partnered with a 10c bottle collection depot in Garbutt. Read their top tips for making bottle drop off a breeze.

Joshua Gaw, at the Garbutt depot, has partnered with Return-In Australia. Picture: Evan Morgan

Townsville’s own recycling hero Joshua Gaw continues to make headway in his quest to live as independently as possible, after the announcement his Jobs4Josh business was now in partnership with the Return-It Garbutt depot.

Joshua Gaw, 22, was born with low-functioning autism and intellectual disabilities but is known around Townsville for his huge work ethic - notably doing green waste collections and dump runs alongside a carer.

Last year, Mr Gaw and his family grew Jobs4Josh to include collecting 10c recyclables from businesses to cash in on the 10c bottle scheme.

Since then Mr Gaw has gone on to save nearly 30,000 containers from landfill with the help of supports - an important income source for the 22-year-old who’s in the process of transitioning from the family home to fully independent living.

The new partnership between Jobs4Josh and the Return-It Garbutt depot has strengthened the side-hustle.

Joshua Gaw, at the Garbutt depot, has partnered with Return-In Australia. Picture: Evan Morgan

In return for Mr Gaw using the depot as his dedicated 10c drop off point, the Mackley Street business has become a Jobs4Josh corporate partner.

To celebrate the new partnership, the Jobs4Josh team are running a free sausage sizzle at the depot on Saturday 10am to midday.

Josh Gaw, at the Garbutt depot, has partnered with Return-In Australia. Picture: Evan Morgan

Josh’s top tips for 10c returns:

- All lids need to be taken off the bottles

- Be kind to recycling staff and wash bottles so they are clean at collection

- Make sure the bottles are part of the 10c scheme by looking for the 10c symbol on the label (milk cartons and fruit juice containers for example are not part of the scheme)

- Members of Return-It Garbutt can skip self-sorting and just leave their bags of recyclables with staff. Workers will process the bags and put the credit on your membership account

- Alternatively, you can drop a bag of recycles off and donated it to the Jobs4Josh account, and staff with process the bottles for you

Josh Gaw, at the Garbutt depot, has partnered with Return-In Australia. Picture: Evan Morgan

Originally published as Bag of opportunities: Jobs4Josh pairs with Garbutt 10c depot