Waste

Australians throw away about 10 million tonnes of waste each year! But residents of the Illawarra are working brilliantly to reduce this by:

Most importantly, thinking of ways to avoid and minimise waste in the first place;
Repairing and reusing things to maximise their lifespan;
Recycling products in the yellow top bin, and properly disposing of wastes.

Image: We all want to do the right thing by our children and the environment

Some examples of the simple things you can do to reduce wastes are:

Rent or borrow items from a friend if you won’t use them very often
Purchase goods with no or little packaging. Even better grow your own healthy package free food at home!
Carry your own reusable bags – the best are made from natural materials like silk, cotton or hemp which can be cut up for rags and will biodegrade at the end of their useful life
Use refillable containers, and take them shopping with you
Take a refillable bottle drink bottle with you everywhere you go instead of buying bottled drinks
Feed food scarps to a worm farm or pets, or compost them
Shop with a list and avoid contributing to the billions of dollars of food thrown away every year from Australian fridges, uneaten.
Put a ‘no junk mail’ sticker on the letterbox
Be a better buyer

Invite friends over for a clothes swap party
Organise a street garage sale
Reuse materials, such as timber, newspapers and cardboard in and around your garden.
Reuse paper that has been used only on one side
Buy goods second hand and donate unwanted items to charity
Use rechargeable batteries – even better recharge with a solar recharger
Learn to repair, sharpen and maintain tools and other goods