Face your waste

We all produce waste, a lot of it. It’s just a part of living in the modern world.

Most of us, though, have become a bit lazy and complacent when it comes to waste – we buy more than we need (and often these things come heavily packaged) and we tend to use and dispose of items relatively quickly.

When these items are thrown away, we simply placed them in a bin for the council to take away. Easy.

We can all do better if we just Avoid, Reduce and Reuse. Time to face your waste and look at what you buy and throw away. In most instances, there will be simple changes that can be made to reduce the amount of waste we make.

When you go to buy something. Ask yourself:

• Do I really need it? (Avoid)
• Do I need as much of it? (Reduce)
• Can I use it again, or can someone else? (Reuse). If the item is broken, can it be repaired? And, if I don’t want it anymore, can it be repurposed and used as something else?

All these things prevent waste from being generated in the first place. But if, after all that, you need to dispose of an item, dispose of it wisely.

Many councils are moving to a three bin system – general waste (red lid), garden and recycling (yellow lid). In some cases, there’s even a bin for food organic waste (lime green lid). Sorting your waste makes is easier to process, and helps keep waste from going to landfill.

Make sure you put the right things in the right bins – remembering that not everything for disposal goes into these bins. Some things have to be taken to special collection sites for recycling, or landfill. Check with your local council for what goes in what bins.

For more information, go to faceyourwaste.com.au