Waste Watch has come to an end, or has it? | QUIZ
The watch has ended.
While our four-week Waste Watch campaign has come to a close, for many in Port Lincoln their watch has just begun.
While South Australia banned the plastic bag eight years ago, it appears the state still has a long way to go to stop plastic finding its way to landfill or in our pristine oceans.
But good news – we have learnt a few tips and tricks along the way of our campaign we thought were worth sharing for people who want somewhere to start.
If there is one thing we have learnt is that starting small is best, just making the cognitive process to be more mindful is the biggest step.
For grocery shopping it is best to buy produce and items with no packaging, especially plastic packaging.
When that cannot be avoided buy items in glass, paper or cardboard – materials that can be reused, repurposed or recycled.
Try to use up everything you buy – before hopping in the car to the grocery store, take a look in the pantry or fridge and see what can be used up first.
When grocery shopping take cloth bags to put fruit and veg in rather than using the flimsy plastic bags.
If you are shopping at the deli section of the supermarket or at the local butcher, bring a glass container, most people are more than happy to work with your requests, and if not, at least you tried.
A disguised benefit of less waste in people’s lives is it makes them healthier, they tend to eat less processed foods and are more motivated to make recipes from scratch.
When looking at the bathroom a common waste saver is switching the use of liquid soap to soap bars; it saves on plastic containers, plus the bars last longer.
Additional tips include composting food waste to make the garden healthy, refilling water bottles, buying second hand clothes, making the most of buy, swap and sell pages, saying no to a straw in drinks and avoiding takeaway where possible.
Let’s face it, recycling can be confusing with what to put in the yellow bin and what not to put in. Regions differ in what recycling services they offer but a quick search on the local council website should answer 90 per cent of your recycling questions.
Lastly, if your watch has only just begun, it is only going to get easier from here on in when you discover it is easy to turn the attitude into habit.