Tips to help the Earth

We’ve all got so much on the go, giving up modern conveniences is a hard idea to swallow, but many products create large amounts of waste. Australian households created 12.4 million tonnes of waste in 2018-19, just 0.5 per cent behind the manufacturing and construction industries. The Australian Bureau of Statistics has estimated the amount we throw away will only increase, but the good news is there are plenty of small and manageable ways to help the planet. Here are our top five tips for Geraldton residents to lessen their environmental impact. BORROW AND LEND Toy and book libraries, local Buy Nothing groups and neighbours are great resources to borrow items from if you only need to use them once or twice. You’d be surprised just how many free and affordable resources there are out there. To get started, check out the Geraldton Regional Library, the Geraldton Toy Library, and Buy Nothing Geraldton, WA on Facebook. DONATE, BUY AND SELL SECOND-HAND Fast fashion is quickly going out of vogue, and at the risk of sounding like Captain Obvious, buying second-hand clothing and goods is ones of the best ways to reduce waste and save money. Australian households contributed 90 per cent of the country’s textile waste, with 247,000 tonnes of clothing and material going into landfill during 2018-19. Buying a new, good-quality outfit in a fun new design is still OK, but there’s nothing like trawling through the racks, aisles or online feed for the next bargain. If you’re donating or selling, keep in mind the key rule — if you wouldn’t give it to a friend, don’t give it away. A quick clean or mend may be all it takes for your trash to have a renewed life as a treasure ready to be accepted by a new owner. Geraldton has a range of second-hand clothing and furniture retailers, as well as online groups and trading websites where you can pick up a bargain. For no-nonsense buyers and sellers, you can’t go past the newspaper classifieds. RE-USABLE TAKEAWAY KIT Many of us have re-usable cups, but are still guilty of bringing home takeaway in plastic containers. But have you thought about keeping a handy kit of everything you need in your car, desk drawer or bag? In addition to your coffee cup and water bottle, a re-usable straw, cutlery, containers and even a napkin, if you’re game, can prevent you from needing to take any waste away from your chosen cafe or restaurant when the need arises. Some joints aren’t too keen on you not using their packaging, however, especially in the age of COVID-19. But those who are more likely to accommodate you sell the items, and are more likely to have healthier offerings and will be environmentally conscious as well, so bonus points there! RE-USABLE PRODUCE BAGS Most of us are used to bringing our re-usable shopping bags to the supermarket, but what about when buying fruits and vegetables? Resist grabbing the plastic pouch to weigh your tomatoes in and instead put them in a mesh produce bag. Members of the Geraldton chapter of Boomerang Bags sew and distribute free bags out of scrap, spare and recycled material. They also hire out re-usable bunting to replace balloons and streamers at your next eco-friendly celebration. DROP THE BIN LINERS (AND USE NEWSPAPER INSTEAD) Why do we buy something just to throw it away? Supermarkets have started to stock “biodegradable” alternatives to bin bags, but the fine print shows this degradation doesn’t achieve much more than the regular plastic ones. When you’re done catching up on the latest news and supporting local advertisers, fold up a few pages at the bottom and around the sides of your kitchen bin to soak up any liquids, and simply tip the contents out into your wheelie bin. If you’re worried about your outside bin smelling, a few at the bottom of that one too wouldn’t go amiss.