Australians now produce about 50 million tonnes of waste per year, averaging over 2 tonnes per person. Take a look at the below tips to help reduce your waste footprint.
How to reduce your waste:
- Reuse sheets of paper that have been used on one side
- Reuse old envelopes – cover the name and address
- Keep a box beside your desk for storing to be reused
- When you have reused the paper, place it out for recycling collection
- If you do not wish to receive advertising material put a sign on your mail box
- Proof read your work from a screen before printing a hard copy
- Refuse plastic bags for single purchases, use reusable shopping bags
- Reuse small plastic bags for fruit and veggies, or use a box or basket
- Keep a few used plastic or cloth shopping bags, cardboard boxes in the car
- If you are on an outing or holiday, where there is no recycling bin, take your items home for recycling
- Give old clothes, toys, furniture and appliances in good condition to charity
- Don’t forget to compost fruit, vegetable scraps, leaves, grass clippings and soft stemmed plants – no citrus
- If you do not have a compost bin, you can dig fruit and vegetable scraps directly into the garden
- Use an ice cream bucket to store fruit and vegetable scraps from the kitchen and empty daily into the compost bin