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Reusable Modern Cloth Nappies and Wipes

Reusable Vs Disposable Nappies – why make the switch?

In Hobart alone, every year approximately 466 tonnes – the equivalent of 100 full garbage trucks – of disposable nappies end up in McRobies Gully landfill. Multiply that across Tasmania and there are millions of disposable nappies being sent to landfill every year, each nappy taking hundreds of years to break down while producing methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

Disposable nappies are the 4th most prevalent material after food waste, plastic packaging and textiles collected as waste from Hobart homes and make up 5% of all residential waste collected.
Modern, reusable cloth nappies and wipes provide alternatives that are kinder on the planet and your hip pocket.

Download our free fact sheet to find out:
– What are modern cloth nappies?
– What about the cost?
– Are compostable disposables an option?
– Low waste options for wipes
– Low waste options for breast (nursing) pads
– More helpful information and resources.

Low Waste Nappies and Wipes Fact Sheet

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Low Waste Period Products Fact Sheet

Waste NoT Awards 2019 – Entries Open July 1st!

The 2019 Northern Tasmania Waste NoT Awards are bigger and better than ever!

This year there’s $2,500 worth of prizes up for grabs recognising excellence in waste avoidance, waste processing and education initiatives through to recycling, re-invention and upcycling.

Individuals, schools, businesses, community groups and not-for-profit organisations in Northern Tasmania are eligible to enter (in the Break O’Day, Northern Midlands, Launceston City, Dorset, Meander Valley, West Tamar or George Town Council areas). Categories include:

Early Learners
Primary School
Secondary School
Colleges/Tertiary Education Institutes
Small to Medium Organisations (under 150 employees)
Large Organisations (over 150 employees)
Individuals
Not for Profit/Community Group; and
State/Local Government.

Entry nominations open Monday 1 July and close at 5.00pm on Friday 9 August 2019.

Complete the online entry form here. This link also includes the Awards’ full application guidelines and eligibility details.

Category winners receive a trophy made from recycled materials PLUS a $250 prize. There’s also a bonus $250 to be awarded to the overall winner!

The Waste NoT Awards are hosted by the Northern Tasmanian Waste Management Group on behalf of its member councils and are proudly supported by Veolia.

Dumping is not the answer: disposal options in the Cradle Coast

Safely disposing of big loads of household rubbish isn’t as costly or difficult as you might think.

Local councils, not-for-profit groups and commercial businesses all provide a variety of disposal services for bulky, unwanted items. You can give away unwanted items through online networks such as freecycle.org, gumtree or Buy, Sell, Swap pages on Facebook. Often people take these items to repair or repurpose.
There are also commercial recyclers in Tasmania that can take unwanted goods for a fee – search online to find businesses near you (and some are happy to travel and collect materials too).

TYRES
Tyres can be dropped off at most tip/waste management centres for recycling. A fee applies depending on the size of the tyre (usually around $5 – $10 each).
Many car service centres offer a tyre disposal service when they fit new tyres. This fee is often cheaper and more convenient than taking the tyres to the tip yourself.

CARS
Car bodies can be sold for scrap metal recycling and can be collected for free. Contact a car wrecker or ‘cash for car’ service for a quote and to arrange drop off or collection. Some companies pay approximately $50 for a car that they collect or $70 for a car that is dropped off.

GENERAL RUBBISH
Disposal of general rubbish at any of the Cradle Coast tips can cost from approximately $10. Some councils provide tip tickets to residents in their rates notices. Contact your local Council to enquire about disposal fees at your local waste transfer station.
Excess household recyclables such as cans, bottles and cardboard can be dropped off for free at most transfer stations.
Any reusable items can dropped off at a tip shop including Burnie, Central Coast and Spreyton, for resale or reuse.

GREEN WASTE
Green waste can be disposed of at your local waste transfer station.
It is fairly simple to home compost some garden waste such as lawn clippings, leaf litter and small prunings. There’s a Rethink Waste Tasmania fact sheet on Home Composting that you can use as a guide (see our Resources page for details).

FURNITURE
Furniture in usable condition can be sold or donated. Popular online classifieds for the sale of 2nd hand goods include Gumtree and Facebook Marketplace.
Many charity stores accept furniture and some such as the Salvation Army and St Vincent de Paul offer a free collection service.
Tip shops also accept reusable furniture.

The largest Waste Transfer Stations in Circular Head, Waratah-Wynyard, Burnie, Central Coast, Devonport, Kentish and Latrobe municipal areas all accept electronic waste (e.g. televisions, computers, monitors, printers and accessories) for free recycling drop-off.

Finding it difficult to physically move unwanted bulk items?
Commercial operators can be paid to take away unwanted goods. Household goods in usable condition may also be collected by some charities. Items posted on buy/sell/swap sites are also usually collected and may even be re-purposed or repaired.
Talk to a neighbour or friend about sharing a trailer load for disposal. Secure the load for transport and sort the materials in the trailer so they’re grouped together for quick and easy drop-off.

Seen rubbish dumped where it doesn’t belong?
Report dumping hotspots to your local council and together we can find ways to stop waste items from harming Tasmania’s soil, waterways and environment. Report it and let’s get it sorted!

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!

Tasmania’s Biggest Garage Sale Weekend

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

Finding ways to avoid, reduce and reuse waste

The three regional Waste Management Groups have created an awareness raising program to encourage Tasmanians to avoid , reduce and reuse waste.

Tasmanians are pretty good at recycling and although this is a great way to keep waste out of landfill and our environment, there are many other things we can all do to be good sorts and decrease our waste.

It’s important that we try to find ways to reuse and reduce waste, or best of all to avoid generating waste altogether.

Here are some simple ideas being promoted across Tasmania on TV, in newspapers, on radio and social media. Are there one, two or more things you could be doing to rethink waste?

Avoid waste:

Take your travel mug for your next coffee
Refill your drink bottle in place of packaged water
Take your own shopping bags
Choose unpackaged food and products over those with excessive packaging
Use containers instead of plastic wrap for storing left-overs
Say no to plastic straws.

Reduce waste:

Plan ahead and only buy ingredients you need for the week
Choose and maintain household items that will last or can be repaired
Borrow or hire instead of buying if you only need an item for a short time.

Reuse waste:

Post unwanted items online for sale or giveaway, hold a garage sale or swap-meet
Treasure hunt for pre-loved items before buying new – Council tip shops are a great resource too
Cook up the next meal from left-overs
Find new uses for every-day items, such sewing old clothes or fabric items into reusable bags.

If you haven’t yet seen the Avoid – Reduce – Reuse – Recycle commercials on TV in Tasmania, you can watch them on our Rethink Waste YouTube channel.

Tis the season to reduce, reuse, recycle!

From all of our member Councils and team at Rethink Waste, we wish you a fabulous festive season and wonderful New Year!

Want to make your celebrations jolly for the planet too? Have fun following Planet Ark’s 12 Do’s of Christmas… maybe it will inspire some new year resolutions too!

Download your copy and pop it on the fridge:

12 DOs of Christmas

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Merry Christmas!

Bring a reusable cup for your next takeaway coffee

Tasmanians love their coffee, but the number of single use, disposable cups ending up as litter or in landfill is a growing problem.

Most disposable cups look like they’re made of cardboard and therefore can be recycled. The reality is that takeaway cups are usually lined with plastic film to help make them watertight. This plastic can’t be recycled in Tasmania, so the cups end up in landfill.

Across Australia, around one billion disposable cups are used every year and they are now a major contributor to litter, second only to plastic bottles. If disposable cups end up in our waterways and oceans they add to the big problem of plastic pollution.

So what can you do?

Bring your own reusable cup or mug when ordering your next takeaway hot drink.
There are plenty of stylish and affordable options available, often with lids. You may already have a favourite cup at home that you can use.
Take the time to sit in and enjoy your hot drink, rather than getting a takeaway.
It can be great for you to take a break, and it’s great for the environment too.
If you have to get a takeaway and you don’t have your own reusable cup with you, then say ‘no thanks’ to the lid if it’s not really necessary.
Once finished, put the disposable cup in the garbage bin and NOT the recycling bin. If you do have a lid, place that in the recycling bin.

Changing habits can take time but each time you avoid using a disposable cup you’ll be doing your little bit for Tassie. Now there’s a good sort!