Reusing and recycling

I've been reading about recycling and reusing lately and two of the facts I came across absolutely shocked me. Source  They were:

1. Australia is the second highest producer of waste per person in the world at approximately 650 kilograms per person. This is second only to the United States America, which produces approximately 715 kilograms per person.
2. The average Australian family of four people makes enough rubbish in one year to completely fill a three-bedroom house from floor to ceiling.

What are we doing!

 Plant a garden and make compost.

The local Council here has been encouraging residents towards a more responsible attitude about recycling and waste for some time. In 2009 they thought our landfill dumps would be full by now, 2014, and although that hasn't happened, I'm guessing it isn't far off. It's time for all of us to take this seriously. What we're doing is not sustainable. Not only do rubbish dumps emit gasses into the atmosphere, they use a lot of land that probably can't be used again.

On average, every year every Australian throws out:

• 330 kilograms of paper
• 552 aluminium cans
• 118 kilograms of plastic
• 74 kilograms of metals
• 414 kilograms of food
• 206 glass bottles/jars

I wonder where Canada, UK, France, Germany, Italy and Holland stand on this. I wonder about Japan, China and India too.

Just looking at that list shows me areas to target. Paper can be composted, aluminium cans can be taken to a recycling depot. Food can be managed better and some bottles and jars can be reused at home, the rest recycled and made into new glass.  I don't know enough about metals and plastic to comment on them but at the very least they should be sent to the recycle depot for processing.

 Bottle and jars can be recycled for preserving and storing.

Get rid of as many disposable products as you can and reuse your homemade products over and over again.

Use modern cloth nappies/diapers.

 Feed waste food to your worm farm or chickens.

Waste management for all of us starts at the shops. As well as choosing products, you also choose the packaging that comes with it. If you think your products are over packaged, tell the manager of the store, either in person or via email, and tell them you won't be buying that product until it's packaged responsibly.  Changes won't be made until consumers complain about it. As consumers, I don't think we fully understand how powerful we are. Manufacturers have to keep us happy and when we don't complain, they think we are. It's up to us to stand up and tell them we won't buy their products unless the packaging is consumer and environmentally-friendly.

Cut up old towels and sheets and use them as cleaning rags.

Buy food in bulk when you can.

And what can we do in our own homes?

• Before you go grocery shopping, do your menu plan and only buy what you need, not what you think you might use. That will cut down on waste and it will keep money in your pocket. 
• If you have a garden, compost as much as you can, and give waste food to the chooks or dogs. 
• If you have a stockpile cupboard, only buy what you know you'll use, add new products to the back of the cupboard and use from the front.
• Buying food in bulk will save on packaging. Or if you can, buy large packets and then break them up into smaller, reusable containers when you get home. You'll still be getting the product you want but you'll have less packaging and it will be cheaper.
• Replace as many of the disposable products as you can with reusable ones - nappies/diapers, dishcloths and rags made from old sheets and towels come to mind.
• Don't buy water or drinks in plastic bottles when you go out, take a refillable bottle from home. 
• If you buy coffee when you're out, take a reusable cup with you. 
• Avoid using plastic utensils and paper plates. 
• Shop at op/thrift shops.
• Join Freecycle in your area to give away appliances and furniture you don't need.  
• Growing some of your own food will help cut down on thousands of plastic bags that contain store bought produce.  
• Make your own produce bags and carry bags and refuse the plastic option at the shop.
• Swap clothes, kids toys and books with friends instead of throwing them out. 
• Use the library instead of buying magazines or books, or use your computer to read the digital versions.

I have been meaning to show you this bottle for a long time.  I got two of them from the wonderful Biome store in Brisbane. It's a reusable glass bottle with a silicone covering to protect the glass. The thing I love about it is that I can clearly see inside the bottle to make sure it's clean and the top is very easy to tighten and remove, even for my older, weaker wrists. These bottles would be ideal for someone with arthritis and for children. This is the 400ml bottle, they are also available in smaller and larger versions. They are fairly expensive but mine have lasted two years and have been dropped; I have a feeling they'll last a lifetime.

If you have a bin specifically for recycling, go to your Council or local authority website and read about what you can recycle in your area. Many Councils now have a Waste Minimisation Strategy. You should read that too. Your Council will probably also have a list of what it accepts for recycling and if it needs any special treatment by you before it's placed in the bin. Here, for instance, we must rinse out all the plastic drink, milk, yoghurt etc containers, and newspapers must have any plastic wrapping removed before we place them in the bin. And when you have your recyclable waste in the bin, don't contaminate it with anything. If your bin is contaminated, it will probably not be recycled because that kind of sorting just doesn't happen at the depots now.

I hope you'll join me in trying to reduce the amount of materials sent to the land fill. What you do will affect your local area both now and in the future. Surely many of us could cut the amount of waste we generate by simply using some of the methods listed above. There certainly is no better time to start than right now. How do you recycle? Do you have some special tips to share?