The annual Waste 2 Art exhibition will open at Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre on Saturday, following the conclusion of the competition component of the event.

Entries closed on Wednesday and on Friday the five judges, who come from a range of backgrounds, cast their eyes over the works to pick the category winners.

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Now that judging has been completed, the doors are being thrown open so members of the public can see all the works that were submitted into the competition.

A spokesperson for Bathurst Regional Council said there is a lot of variety in the exhibition, in both the works and those who have entered it, as there are different categories eligible for prizes.

"We've got preschool, primary, open, community and sculpture; there's five different categories and each category has 2D, 3D and functional," she said.

"... All the winners in each category go on to the regional competition."

Many of the works have incorporated the theme of this year's competition and exhibition, which is aluminium and steel cans.

"Waste 2 Art has been going for about 11 years now and we are trying to grow it and have more people involved," the spokesperson said.

"They have a theme each year, but [entrants] don't necessarily have to use that theme."

Although entries are down on previous years, the spokesperson said the calibre of the entries this year is "excellent".

People can see the talent for themselves from Saturday through to May 23.

The works are all displayed in BMEC's City Hall and can be viewed between 10am and 4pm on weekdays.

There will be reduced opening hours on Saturdays and Sundays, with the works only available to view between 10am and 3pm.

The purpose of Waste 2 Art is to challenge the way people look at waste and entries should incorporate some element of recycling by including waste items.

The spokesperson said that people were definitely getting the message about recycling that the competition promotes.

"We just encourage everyone to get involved and participate next year," the spokesperson said.

"It's not only an art competition, it's about learning what you can do for the environment."

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