Recycling tips for home
Keep in mind that plastic is the #1 pollutant item in our oceans and waterways, and start thinking about how you use plastic in your everyday life and where you can cut it out.
CIGARETTE BUTTS - it's ok if you smoke but there's no need to share your habbit with the birds and the bees and the underwater creatures. 1 cigarette butt contaminates the surrounding 50L of water, this is the equivalent of a whole bath tub. So carry a canister if you think you can't find a bin
STRAWS - even though it may look sexy to drink out of a straw or maybe you just like it, some things just need aren't worth it when 33% of trash is found on beaches are straws
EAR BUDS - don’t flush em' cause guess what? When you come join us for a beach clean up you'll be finding A LOT of what at first you'll take to be lollipop sticks, but will quickly realise that there's no way this many people are eating lollipops and that what you’re actually picking up are cotton buds which have been washed up
COFFEE CUPS - The average coffee drinker uses 500 coffee cups a year, but according to Starbucks research in 2003 coffee drinkers used reusable cups an estimated 13.5 million times, which kept 266,167 kilograms of garbage out of landfills. In 2006, this number increased to 17 million and an estimated 305,721 kg of avoider waste (4). So just make the switch.
TAKE-AWAY CONTAINERS - It's hard to sit down and have lunch everyday, but every Thai lunch combo, or sashimi 6 pack deal comes in plastic that has a life-time once it leaves the shops of less than 10 minutes. If you can carry a tupperware container and hand it over when buying lunch or dinner where possible
CUP or CONE? - maybe you're not a fan of waffle or maybe you're trying to cut your calories, but why not just eat your ice-cream in a cone not only the old fashioned way but now the eco-friendly way
PLASTIC BAGS - In 2007 Australians used 3.9 billion plastic bags, 50-80 million of which end up as litter in our environment. It only takes 4 grocery trips for an average family to accumulate 60 plastic bags (5). Don't be a statistic and use a material bag, everyones got some!
WATER BOTTLES - Before we even think about the energy required to recycle such a bottle, what about the energy that has gone into filling it, transporting it and referating it. Australians buy 600 million litres of water every year (6) even though we are lucky enough to live in country where we can drink the water from the tap. If you want to be the change, then make the switch to a resuable stainless steel bottle.
PLASTIC CUTTLERY - Plastic forks, knives and spoons are a big source of plastic pollution. You may be thinking, 'there's no way you could expect me to carry a reusable fork', but let's break that down... 60 years ago conveniences like that were unheard of, so it is possible! All it is is a change of habit.
VEGETABLES & FRUIT - Avoid buying vegetables and fruit wrapped in plastics and foam. Where possible it is not necessary to use bags provided in fruit and veg section of super market, the cashiers don't mind and most of the time if it self service you can just keep them together
SUPERMARKET DECISIONS - if purchasing packaged goods, try to chose goods that are wrapped in less plastics, preferably in glass or tin.
References:
(1) http://www.cleanup.org.au/PDF/au/cua_plastic_recycling_fact_sheet.pdf
(2) http://theconversation.com/eight-million-tonnes-of-plastic-are-going-into-the-ocean-each-year-37521
(3) http://www.zerowaste.sa.gov.au/upload/facts-sheets/RecycleRight-plastics-fact-sheet.pdf (4) http://business.edf.org/files/2014/03/starbucks-report-april2000.pdf
(5) http://www.environment.gov.au/node/21324
(6) http://www.marineconservation.org.au/pages/plastic-pollution.html
