Blog | Garden | Easy ways to reduce waste, composting, Australian Organic Directory
Australian Organic Directory
Australian Organic Directory
Home -Australian Organic Directory
Home -Australian Organic Directory
Home | Australian Organic Directory
Browse Australian Organic DirectoryBrowse Australian Organic Directory
Home | Australian Organic Directory
Australian Organic Directory
Australia's most comprehensive organic and natural directory
View our Blog

Blog / Garden

23 Feb 2018

Easy Ways to Reduce Waste



Statistics show that the majority of people have broken or abandoned their new year’s resolutions by now. However, it doesn’t need to be January 1st for us to start making beneficial changes. Instead of panicking about broken resolutions why not focus on how you can start making small changes at home now towards a more sustainable planet.

Here are 5 easy ways you can reduce your waste in 2018.

Organise your recycling

Recycling your waste is one of the best things you can do for the environment and it doesn’t have to be a difficult task. Purchase some affordable bins and label them with “glass”, “plastic”, “metals”, etc and keep them in a convenient place like the kitchen, laundry area or garage. If the bins are out of sight place reminder notes in your house so you don’t forget to separate your waste and have it ready for collection day.  It is also helpful if your recycling bins aren’t too big so you’re still able to carry them outside.

Start composting

So much of the food that we throw away ends up in landfills, but there is a better and more environmentally-friendly use for it.  Composting is an easy and rewarding practice that turns your garden and kitchen waste into nutrient-rich fertilizer. Fruits and vegetables, egg shells, coffee grounds, tea, dead plants, stale bread, biscuits, and old newspapers are just some of the things that can be composted. If you don’t have space for an outdoor compost heap you can invest in a compost bin or a worm farm which turns food scraps into liquid compost.

Conserve water

Water is something we often take for granted, but it is not an endless resource. Some easy water saving methods include taking showers for no longer than 3 minutes, making sure all your taps and toilets are free of leaks, buying a water-saving shower head, closing the tap while you brush your teeth and investing in a rainwater collection tank. These will not only reduce your water wastage but it will also reduce the amount of power used to pump and filter water.

Say no to plastic

Plastic shopping bags, plastic wrapping, plastic bottles and other packaging are made from petrochemicals which pollute the environment and take thousands of years to decompose. Thousands of water and land animals are killed each year when they ingest plastic litter by mistake. It’s remarkably easy to reduce the use of single-use plastic and all it takes is some forethought. Invest in some sturdy reusable shopping bags and keep them in your car or next to your front door so you never have an excuse to forget them at home. Take some smaller reusable bags with you so that you can weigh out fruit, vegetables, grains, legumes, nuts and seeds and don’t have to use the flimsy plastic bags that shops provide.

Invest in reusable items

You can reduce your contribution to landfill waste by simply refusing to use single-use, disposable convenience items like plastic wrap, plastic utensils, napkins, straws and take-away cups. It takes some planning and organisation but if you invest in a couple of good-quality reusable food covers and bags, cups, straws, bottles and utensils and pack them in your bag and car you’ll be reducing your environmental impact. 


Sources

https://www.samaritans.org.au/news_article/3-simple-ways-reduce-reuse-recycle-2018/
https://www.motherearthliving.com/wiser-living/easy-eco-conscious-lifestyle-zb0z1712