NIRW project officer, Sam Swain said entrants must upload their photo and post a description online to enter the competition.

"This is a fantastic opportunity for people to be creative and think about waste in a different way," he said.

"It might include photos of waste to art pieces, reuse of an old discarded object, or reducing their own waste by taking their reusable shopping bags to the supermarket, just to name a few.

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"This year we have decided to take a different twist and bring it into the realm of photography."

Sam said they had decided to try to get as many entries as they could and were targeting a younger demographic.

An Instagram competition is being conducted as part of the awards to encourage instagrammers to upload and share their photos using #InspireUs and @northerninlandregionalwaste.

"Most phones contain quite a decent media pixel sized photo, so it doesn't have to be a you beaut professional on a digital SLR. It can still be off your phone," he said.

"One of the great things that I've seen is that people often are going about their everyday business and don't think they are doing so well, but they're using reusable bags and have got their water bottles.

"So, it's not just about recycling all the time, its doing those things to avoid waste. Maybe you just go shopping for single carrots instead of bagged carrots."

Photos will be judged by an independent panel according to how well they meet the theme about inspiring others to do better for our world by making us rethink how we can avoid, reduce, reuse or recycle our waste.

Entries close on October 27, with an exhibition following in Armidale during National Recycling Week (November 9-17).

All prizes are prepaid Mastercard gift cards and award categories include:

More information, terms and conditions are available here.