Say no to take away coffee cups and plastic bottled water. A staggering one billion coffee cups are estimated to end up in landfill each year in Australia. Coffee cups are not recyclable and plastic bottles are among the 10 most common rubbish items picked up on Cleanup Australia Day. Around 373 million plastic water bottles end up as waste each year.

Straws can be lethal to a turtle as it is easily mistaken for food. Plastic straws do not break down when ingested by a turtle and can therefore cause digestive issues for baby turtles, sometimes with a fatal outcome. Australians use around 10 million straws every day. Try stainless steal straws as an alternative.

DITCH PLASTIC BAGS. They take over 300 years to photodegrade. They break down into tiny toxic particles that contaminate the soil and waterways and enter the food chain poisoning animals that accidentally ingest them. We don’t leave home without our phones, so add reusable bags to your mental check-list.

Buy locally grown and seasonal fruit and vegetables without plastic packaging. Cut out the plastic bags that separate your fruits in the trolley. Cloth bags are a great alternative. Or even use an empty fruit box to hold your produce.

Buy foods in bulk and avoid multi packs with single items each wrapped in plastic.

Clean out your empty glass jars and refill them with dry goods like pasta, lentils, cereals, dried fruits and nuts. A great alternative to plastic containers.

Avoid using disposable plastics whenever possible. Have a conversation with your butcher and local shops about using your own containers. When getting take away, wash the containers and reuse.

Microbeads are very small bits of plastic that manufacturers use to add scrubbing power to body washes, exfoliators, toothpastes, and other cleansing products.

They are in household cleaning products and cosmetics.

 Microbeads are tiny pieces of a huge problem. Our marine life injest more microplastic every year. They’re choking and filling up on our toxic waste.

All you need is a dedicated compost bin and compost bags and you won’t look back. Once you remove the food waste from your bin, you will be alarmed to see how much of your rubbish is made up of single-use plastic.
Mainly packaging around food that can’t be reused. Compost is a great nutrient for soil and food waste in landfill generates methane, a potent greenhouse gas. So it’s win-win! Tips on composting can be found on your local council website.

Upcycling or creative reusing is a great way to reduce waste, protect the environment and channel your inner artist. Also repairing rather than discarding and replacing is a great way to make house-hold objects or clothes last longer.