A STACK of old timber pallets might not seem like much to most people.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Each year, Youngtown's Self Help Workplace builds about 35,000 pallets to be shipped around the world and, after a long life, most of them will be forgotten.
The 2015 Recycled Pallet Competition, which was officially launched by Tasmanian Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson on Monday, invites people from around Tasmania to transform this wood into something "fabulous, functional and financial".
From furniture to decorative pieces, the Self Help Workplace is hoping the competition will attract a winning design that will bring with it a financial return.
Self Help Workplace employs 52 adults with disabilities, many working in the organisation's workshop to manufacture wood products.
Employee Dale Kean has worked for the organisation for the past 37 years and said that he has always loved going into work each day.
"I love it here, we're just like brothers and sisters," he said.
"I work to make the pallets and the garden stakes."
Open to school students, amateur craftspeople, community groups and professional artisans, the competition's entries will be judged on functionality, attractiveness, quality and commercial potential.
Self Help Workplace general manager Donna Bain said she was excited to see what new products would be presented.
"My imagination is going wild. I imagine there will be furniture, artwork and garden products ... we think there will be lots of good ideas buried in people's sheds and backyards," she said.
"Entries will come from anywhere and everywhere, and we're excited to see what innovations people can come up with.
"We're looking for something that really has a strong commercial return, because it's about building sustainable economies in Tasmania for all Tasmanians."
Entries in the competition close on October 2. The competition will be judged in early November to coincide with National Recycling Week.
For more information or for an entry form, visit www.selfhelp.com.au.