Cradle Coast Waste Management Group, Author at Re-Think Waste

Bridgewater Gagebrook Clean Up Group
Gallery
Bridgewater Gagebrook Clean Up Group

Good Sorts

Bridgewater Gagebrook Clean Up Group

Mark and Ange’s energy, passion and action towards waste avoidance in Tasmania puts them firmly in the ‘good sort’ category.
Four years ago they voluntarily started cleaning up litter in Bridgewater and Gagebrook after walking over the Jordan River Bridge and noticing the extraordinary amount of debris polluting the waterway.

More than 250 shopping trolleys, 86000 cigarette butts and 38000 recyclable containers later, the Bridgewater Gagebrook Clean Up Group continues to make a significant difference to their local streets, parks and reserves. Not even a blackberry infested riverbank can deter them from hand-cutting their way to litter trapped in the vegetation!

Mark and Ange are strong advocates for a container deposit scheme in Tasmania and are motivated to make their neighbourhood look great while leaving a positive legacy for future generations. The Group has harnessed the interest of followers on social media and regularly share the volume and types of litter found to raise awareness and to stimulate behaviour change.

To get behind their efforts or to lend a hand with clean-ups, visit the Bridgewater Gagebrook Clean Up Group on Facebook

Back to the Tasmanian Good Sorts

Circular Head Aboriginal Corp
Gallery
Circular Head Aboriginal Corp

Good Sorts

Circular Head Aboriginal Corp

Dutchy and his work-team at Trawmanna are truly good sorts. Not only have they converted used 1.25L plastic bottles into a functional and stylish greenhouse, but they’ve also managed to salvage a wide range of materials to complete the job from a screen door, to bricks and old tent poles.
The idea to build a greenhouse from recycled materials was devised by the Circular Head Aboriginal Corp (CHAC) after Smithton won the 2017 National Tidy Town Award. While attending the Award ceremony, CHAC members were inspired by similar projects that combined waste minimisation with community nutrition and nurturing programs.
The greenhouse sits within a community garden at Trawmanna and will be a valuable addition for the young families who come together to raise fruit and vegetable seeds and propagate cuttings of native plants. The roof is half salvaged Perspex sheets and half plastic bottles, allowing for both wet and dry areas to suit different growing needs. The bottled-wall design also allows airflow while retaining warmth. The unused part of the bottles are being converted into planter pots and waste cardboard is frequently used as a weed mat under pathways. The team has also been experimenting with mulched polystyrene waste and concrete to create insulated pavers for the hothouse floor.
What a great example of ingenuity that is turning trash into nutritious and tasty treasures!

Back to the Tasmanian Good Sorts

688 Ute Loads of Litter and Counting

Tasmania’s three regional Waste Management Groups are encouraging everyone to celebrate 30 years of community action against litter by joining a clean-up team on Clean Up Australia Day this Sunday 3 March.

Northern Tasmanian Waste Management Group member, Michael Attard, said that volunteers in last year’s Clean Up Australia Day helped remove the equivalent of 688 ute loads of rubbish from Tasmanian parks, streets and beaches and momentum was growing to do more in 2019.

“Local councils across Tasmania have witnessed a jump in community involvement in how waste is managed. Rising community awareness is driving community expectations around waste management, recycling, litter and marine debris,” Michael said. “Waste is moving from being someone else’s problem to become a hot topic where individuals are recognising the consequences of their actions – from what they buy through to how items are re-used, recycled or safely discarded.”

Clean Up Australia Day is the nation’s largest community-based environmental event, established by Ian Kiernan AO in 1989. There were an estimated 25,000 volunteers collecting litter at Tasmanian clean-up sites last year, up from around 17,000 in 2017.

Although the number of clean up volunteers has grown, some common litter items continue to be a problem across the state.

“Discarded metal and plastics were the biggest sources of rubbish collected in Tasmania last year, with alcoholic and soft drink cans making up the largest number of individual items,” said Michael.
“When looking at the grouped data, beverage containers as a category were the largest at just over 37% of all collected rubbish. States with well-established container deposit schemes such as South Australia report beverage litter at only 10% by comparison.”

“It was encouraging, however, to see a 21% drop in the volume of glass collected last year and an 8% reduction in paper. These items are easily recycled in kerbside bins or at Waste Transfer Stations and so should never end up as litter.”

Participants can register to take part in Clean Up Australia Day and find a local event at www.cleanupaustraliaday.org.au.

Soft Plastics Recycling

The Redcycle soft plastics recycling service is now available in Coles and Woolworths supermarkets across Tasmania.

Soft plastic that can be ‘scrunched’ is accepted for recycling via these special collection bins. Please remember that soft plastics can NOT be recycled via kerbside recycling bins in Tasmania.

Here are some examples of the soft plastics that can be dropped off at the special Redcycle recycling bins at the supermarkets:

Plastic bags
Bread bags (ties and tags removed)
Foil lined chip packets
Frozen food and veggie bags
Confectionery bags
Cereal box liner bags
Old ‘green’ reusable shopping bags
Rice and pasta packets
Plastic wrap from the outside of toilet paper and paper towels
Large pieces of plastic that furniture comes wrapped in (cut in to A3 sized pieces).

For a full list of currently accepted soft plastic items, visit the redcycle website.

Redcycle partners with Replas to supply recycled plastics that are used to make a wide range of products from bench seats to bollards, fencing, signs and much more.

Tips to Reduce Waste this Christmas

The Christmas and holiday season creates a spike in both garbage and recycling in Tasmania, but there are ways to reduce waste while retaining the festive spirit.
Tasmania’s three regional Waste Management Groups have compiled the 12 Tips of Christmas covering everything from gifts, to decorations and festive meal planning so you can get in the waste-free spirit:

Use paper wrapping that can be easily reused or recycled rather than foil or cellophane or better still, get creative with wrapping using a scarf or towel as part of the gift.
Avoid products with lots of packaging and consider giving a service, donation or experience instead.
Plan your meals and buy only the ingredients that you need. Share leftovers with friends and family to ensure nothing goes in the bin.
Look for gifts that are made from recycled or upcycled materials such as wallets made from old transit canvas or jewellery from cutlery.
Send e-cards rather than traditional cards and keep any cards received to cut into strips for use as gift tags the following year.
Collect flat household batteries from any Christmas toys and drop them off for recycling at the local Council office or Waste Transfer Station.
If you receive a gift that doesn’t fit or is really not wanted, consider donating it to a charity so it can find another home.
Borrow or hire anything you need for a party rather than buying, especially if it will only be used for a short time.
Take the lids off plastic and glass bottles that go into the kerbside recycling bin and place the lids in the garbage to reduce contamination of good recycling.
Don’t pack recycling inside plastic bags or boxes, simply place them loose and mingled in the kerbside recycling bin. Flatten boxes to help fit more in your recycling bin.
If electronic equipment is upgraded, contact your local council to find out about e-waste recycling options and local collection points for old mobile phones.
Get crafty with decorations using cuttings from the garden or make items from last year’s wrapping and cards that can be stored and reused.

Merry Christmas and best wishes for a safe and happy New Year from the Rethink Waste Tasmania team!

The Local Coffeehouse
Gallery
The Local Coffeehouse

Good Sorts

The Local Coffeehouse

The Local Coffeehouse in Huonville is a classic good sort kind of place.

Not only does this community-minded business sort their waste for kerbside and soft plastics recycling, but they also gather handy items such as jars and egg trays and promote their reuse in the café and via the Reduce Reuse Huon Valley group.

The menu is kept deliberately simple to minimise food waste and any food scraps either help feed their own livestock or go into compost at the nearby Honeywood Farm, along with the café’s compostable napkins. Coffee grounds are put aside for collection by local gardeners to enrich their soils.

It’s been a gradual journey to minimise waste at The Local, motivated by wanting to make a difference in practical and achievable ways. They’ve harnessed the local community where possible, using social media to find solutions for their waste and establish themselves as a TerraCycle collection point for hard-to-recycle items.

These simple but important actions have helped The Local reduce its garbage volume by around 75% – now there’s a good sort!
See how The Local goes about its business at www.facebook.com/thelocalhuonville/

Back to the Tasmanian Good Sorts

It’s what’s on the inside that matters – spread the word on excess packaging

When rethinking waste in Tasmania, we’re aiming to avoid or reduce waste being created in the first place. Where it can’t be avoided, then the goal is to reuse or recycle whatever is possible.

Tasmania’s three regional Waste Management Groups and their local council members often hear from residents and businesses expressing their disappointment at the amount of unnecessary packaging used on fresh produce and other products, including from online shopping outlets.

Good manufacturers and retailers respond to what their customers want, so we’ve created an easy way for Tasmanians to have their views on packaging heard.

Simply download one of these electronic postcards and email to the manufacturer, retailer or supplier.

Spread the word! Ask that they use less and waste less and together we can encourage a positive change.

If you’ve experienced wasteful packaging used on FRESH PRODUCE – here’s a simple message that you can email to the retailer or supplier:

Please Rethink Waste on Fresh Produce

1 file(s) 467.83 KB

Download

If you’ve experienced wasteful packaging on any OTHER PRODUCTS – here’s another message aimed at those manufacturers or suppliers:

Please Rethink Waste for Products

1 file(s) 543.19 KB

Download

These electronic postcards are in JPG (picture) format and so are also suitable for attaching to the ‘Contact Us’ forms sometimes found on business websites.

National Recycling Week an Opportunity to Close the Loop

Tasmanians are getting better at recycling with more than 242,000 tonnes of materials collected for re-use in the last year and a steadily declining rate of contamination.

According to Northern Tasmanian Waste Management Group member, Michael Attard the positive trend has been helped by the arrival of new recycling services and a change in attitude.

“Tasmanians are more interested in and aware of what happens to their waste than ever before.”

“Combine this with the arrival of specialised recycling services such as soft plastics collection bins in major supermarkets and the growing number of food and organics collections being introduced across Tasmania and you see less recyclable materials ending up in landfill,” Mr Attard said.

For this trend to be sustainable, the state’s three regional Waste Management Groups are encouraging people to seek out packaging and products made from recycled material or with high recycled content so that the good materials keep going around.

“Recycling as a system only works if we all make an effort to close the loop,” Mr Attard said. “Putting recyclable materials in a recycling bin is only half the story.”

“That means supporting companies that actually use recycled ingredients to make their packaging and products. If we all do our bit to generate demand for recycled goods, then waste will continue to be reduced and recycling can continue to thrive.”

“Demand for recycled products will also increase the viability of more Australian-based recycling processors. We should be aiming for a circular economy for recycling where materials are reprocessed and reused within Australia.”

Cardboard, newspaper and aluminium cans typically have high levels of recyclable content in Australia. Packaging increasingly shows the presence and level of recycled materials used and people can search online for directories of products made from recyclables, including on the Planet Ark recyclingnearyou website.

“You and I may be motivated to recycle for environmental reasons, but businesses also need to see that there’s adequate demand and lasting financial benefits in changing their production methods and materials.”
“It’s another example where individual decisions and actions can add up to make a big difference,” Mr Attard said.

National Recycling Week is being celebrated across Australia from 12 – 18 November.

Tasmania’s Biggest Garage Sale Weekend

Tasmanian households are being encouraged to take part in big weekend of garage sales on 20 and 21 October as part of a national event that highlights the benefits of re-using quality, unwanted items.

For the first time, the Garage Sale Trail will be promoted in Tasmania’s three regions, coordinated by the regional Waste Management Groups and representing 26 of the state’s municipal areas. A total of 148 councils are participating in the event nationwide.

The Cradle Coast and Northern Tasmanian Waste Management Groups along with Waste Strategy South have supported their member councils to take part.

Northern Tasmanian Waste Management Group Chairman, Shane Eberhardt believes that state-wide promotion of the event will boost awareness of the environmental, social and financial benefits of buying and selling second-hand.

“Too many good quality household items and materials unnecessarily end up in landfill. It’s a waste of resources and adds to landfill management costs,” Shane said.
“Garage sales are an ideal way to clear out unwanted goods while making some money and connecting with your local community.”

The latest findings from the Gumtree Second Hand Economy Report 2018 reveal the average Australian household has $4200 in unwanted items and a staggering 50% admit to throwing unwanted items away rather than reusing, re-selling or recycling.

In addition, 88% of Australians have at least one cluttered room according to data released by the Australian Institute.

To help prepare for the event, de-cluttering workshops are being held in some areas, sharing tips for sorting items and how to decide whether to keep, sell or recycle.

“There are more than 150 Tasmanian garage sales already registered in the event and it’s great to see the number is steadily growing. People can host a sale and promote it on the Garage Sale Trail website or use the website to find sales to shop in their local area,” Shane said.

“Contact your local council to find out how to get involved and what support is available to promote your garage sale. It’s a simple way to act more sustainably by passing on items you no longer want to someone who does.”

***

If you’d like to host a sale or shop the trail you can find maps and register at http://garagesaletrail.com.au

Dangerous goods in kerbside recycling bins

Dangerous goods in kerbside recycling bins pose a real risk to staff at Tasmania’s Materials Recovery Facilities who are sorting bin contents by hand.

Examples of dangerous goods include needles and other sharps, ammunition and pieces of wire.

Help keep recycling sorting staff safe by keeping needles and other sharps out of kerbside recycling. If a needle is found in a load of recycling, sorting stops and it’s all diverted to landfill so workers remain safe.

The best way to dispose of syringes, needles and other sharps including those use in tattooing, is to place them in a specially designed sharps disposal container.

These approved biohazard containers have rigid walls, are resistant to puncture and can be sealed in such a way that the contents are not capable of causing injury.

Containers are available from the Tasmanian Government’s Needle and Syringe Program outlets. The outlets distribute sharps disposal containers and provide services for the appropriate disposal of used injecting equipment and full containers. Containers may also be available from your local council.

Find your nearest location from the Tasmanian Department of Health and Human Services’ Needle and Syringe Program website or contact your local council for advice.