This week I watched an eye opening documentary on ABC iView called ‘War on Waste’. It’s an Australian documentary about rubbish and how our wasteful lifestyles are ruining the environment.

I was both horrified and enlightened by the things I learned and I am determined to make changes to ensure I am a better world citizen!

To make sure I set myself up for success, I’m going to start with some easy ones.

1. Recycling my soft plastic

There’s an Australian company called Redcycle that turns plastic packaging into a variety of useful products. You can put all your soft plastics into the bins at Coles and Woolies where you can recycle all your soft plastic waste. The Redcycle site shows you where you can go to recycle your plastic and what kids of plastics to recycle. I went to Coles in Westpoint, Blacktown. The bin was right at the front of the store.

Here are the kinds of soft plastic waste I chucked into the Redcycle bin.

 

2. Stop using takeaway coffee cups

Discovered this week that takeaway coffee cups are NOT RECYCLABLE. Watch episode 3 of ‘War on Waste’ to find out why.

I was thinking of buying a ‘keep cup’ from Onya …. but I only buy take away Chai Lattes when I’m at work so I figure I’d save money if I just take the mug I already own to the coffee shop across the street instead of getting a new cup. They charge me less for bringing my own cup too… so double yay!

3. Finding out how to get rid of my waste responsibly.

I spend ages on the internet looking at useless stuff that helps no one. So I may as well look up some information on how to dispose of my waste responsibly.

Here are a some things I discovered:

Don’t throw nail polish, batteries & other toxic chemicals in the bin.
There are special ways to dispose of these things. Blacktown Council holds an event called ‘Chemical Clean Out’. Next one is on Sunday 15th October. Check out the website for more details.

I can donate my bras
The ‘Uplift Project’ donates bra’s to women who would otherwise not have access to quality bra’s. The project has shipped bra’s to many countries including the Philippines.

I can donate unused beauty products & jewellery
‘The Beauty Bank’ takes unused beauty products, and a variety of other little luxuries like scented candles and costume jewellery, packages them and gives them to homeless women. Their founder, Jen Armstrong has a compelling story of how her own experience with homelessness inspired this project.

I can donate unused feminine hygiene products
You know, like tampons, pads and panty liners. Donate these to your local Women’s shelter.

4. Taking better care of my stuff

I know this one isn’t a super obvious ‘greenie’ thing – so I drew a diagram:

 

5. Telling people about waste management!

Also not a super obvious one so here’s a very short comic strip depicting what happens when you share knowledge… it’s like mitosis!

 

I figure if it was our ignorance that contributed to the mess – it will take knowledge to get us out. And so I leave you with this message…