Australian homes are responsible for 540kg of waste per person every year. That’s over 10kg per person every week, contributing to the 67 million tonnes of waste we generate as a country every year. When we realise this, it makes sense that learning how to reduce waste is the obvious place to start moving towards a greener future.
Landfills and incinerators are a terrible answer to the problem. They create greenhouse gases, destroy wildlife and are horrible for human health. The processing of our waste uses natural resources, energy, water, money and time. So, the simple answer is to create less waste.
Reducing waste in your household can actually be very easy. All it takes is a little planning and creativity, and you’ll be able to cut down on trash and do your part to reduce the figures above. Read on for a helpful list of ten simple ways to reduce waste in your home today.
Sustainable Tips In This Article
Buy In Bulk
Buy less but more? It sounds weird, but we’ll explain. Buying less means fewer things to throw out. For example, you can look at ways to reduce your grocery shop, so you throw out less packaging or wasted food. The same goes for clothing and gadgets.
Buying in bulk has a similar effect as you cut down on packaging. If you shop at a farmer’s market (which can often save money), you’ll be able to buy bulk produce that doesn’t come prepackaged. Need supplies for around the home and garden? Things like mulch can be purchased in bulk by the trailer load, doing away with the waste caused by smaller pre-packaged bags. Luckily, for our residents the renowned Wholefoods store that’s resided in Brunswick for many years has opened up another store, right here at EBV.
Wholefood at EBV features 5 isles of floor to ceiling shelves stocked with a wide range of organic wholefood products, as well as home care products. The best part of our new, beloved store? The bulk food section stretches along the wall, featuring an abundance of bulk food options – making it easy to reduce waste during your shop.
Reduce Food Waste
Australians waste around 7.6 million tonnes of food every year. That’s about 312kg per person, which is one in five bags of groceries (costing $2,500 per household).
Reducing food waste is all about planning. Always create a shopping list, and see what is in your fridge before buying more groceries. Save leftovers, package your food correctly, feed scraps to your pets (or buy some chickens from a rescue), start a compost pile outdoors or indoors with a worm bin. There are plenty of ways to reduce food waste, but the most significant benefit comes in not buying too much in the first place. Imagine saving that extra $2,500 per year instead!
Avoid Paper and Plastic
Reusable bags when shopping are a simple way to cut down on waste. This applies to ALL shopping, not just groceries. Heading out for a day of thrifting? Take reusable bags for clothes, books, and more.
The biggest trap here is simply forgetting to take the bags with you. Store some in your car or use reusable folding bags kept on your keychain or in your handbag at all times. Buying more reuseable bags each time you shop because you forgot to bring some defeats the point of reusable bags in the first place! Try to avoid a stockpile of reuseable bags growing in the cupboard.
Reusable Cups
Paper cups are getting better at being biodegradable and recyclable, but we can avoid this single-use waste in the first place with reusable cups. Bring a reusable travel mug for your local coffee shop to fill if you are a daily coffee purchaser. In some cases, you may even get a discount!
If you make your own coffee at home, be as reusable as possible with your coffee filters, and compost your coffee grounds! This doesn’t just stop with coffee either; avoid buying bottled water and invest in a good quality reusable bottle or at-home carbonator for those who prefer sparkling water.
Opt Out of Junk Mail
Slap a ‘no junk mail’ sticker on your letterbox and keep note of anything you get sent in paper form, so you can opt for an electronic version instead. This could be bank statements, utility bills, and, yes, even phone books, which will still be delivered to you unless you request otherwise.
Spend some time contacting companies directly that send you unwanted mailings requesting you be removed from their list. This achieves two things:
You’ll stop receiving an unnecessary paper that ends up in the bin
You are sending a message to the company that their mailing methods are ineffective; if enough people do this, they will likely change their whole process to an electronic one in time.
Do Away With Plastic Toothbrushes
A biodegradable bamboo toothbrush or reusable electric toothbrush can go a long way in reducing the number of toothbrushes in landfill. These things take hundreds of years to break down, and when you think about how many you go through in a year, that’s a lot of waste!
Green Food Storage
Reusable containers and food wrap should be utilised for your food storage needs instead of aluminium foil and cling wrap. Reusable silicone baking mats are also a great way to avoid aluminium foil or baking paper as part of your food prep.
if you have kids, invest in a quality lunchbox with separate compartments so there is no need for extra packaging and plastic wrap. Reusable wraps made from beeswax are available to keep sandwiches fresh. if you give them yoghurt as a snack, remember our buy in bulk rule, grab a large container and divide it into small reusable ones for use throughout the week.
Reusable Cutlery
If you are heading out for a picnic or throwing a birthday party, use real silverware and cloth napkins as opposed to disposable options. If you are getting takeaway, let them know you’ll use your own cutlery, as single-use cutlery is one of the least justifiable forms of waste.
Use the silverware you already own or buy some at a thrift store specifically for use when out and about.
Go Strawless
Speaking of things that are pointless, disposable straws are at the top of the list! Let’s be honest, drinking beverages without a straw is pretty easy. Politely ask the bartender for no straw with your drink order to avoid unnecessary waste. If you really love or need straws, purchase a reusable option instead.
Do your bit, recycle and help take care of the planet for future generations. Recycling wherever possible is just as important as avoiding waste to keep materials out of landfill. Repurposing used materials and recycling the right way is a simple way to lessen your impact on the environment.
East Brunswick Village apartments feature a separate waste caddy for your food, as well as a bin room that features a few extra bins than normal, including a commingled recycle bin, cardboard and recycling bin, cardboard and paper bin, general waste, soft plastics bin, e-waste bin, hard waste and clothing bin. This set-up teaches our residents how to dispose of their waste properly, as well as make it easier for residents to reduce their waste at home. We’ve even created a video of our apartment’s waste set-up.