The latest instalment of the Benalla Sustainable Future Group's column in the Benalla Ensign  looks at ways to live without plastic products.

Australia and a number of other countries, are moving towards banning the majority of the plastic items that contribute substantially to our waste and pollution issues.

At a meeting of the Federal, state and territory environment ministers in April eight problematic and unnecessary plastic product types for industry were listed for phasing out nationally by 2025 (or sooner in some cases) under the National Waste Policy Action Plan.

These include lightweight plastic bags; plastic products misleadingly termed as biodegradable; plastic straws; plastic utensils and stirrers; expanded polystyrene consumer food containers (for example, cups and clam shells); expanded polystyrene consumer goods packaging (loose fill and molded); and microbeads used in personal health care products.

This ban has already been implemented in South Australia (1/3/21), and in the ACT (1/7/21).

The ban in Queensland will commence in September 2021, in West Australia from November 2021 and in Victoria from February 2023.

Our own Benalla Rural City Council has recently decided to ban a range of single-use plastics at council-organised and sponsored events, so we urge all our local sporting and community groups to follow the council's lead.

In the first of our articles related to Plastic Free July, we urged people to look at alternatives to plastic products for many lifestyle habits.

Now is the time to put these alternatives in place, as the imminent legislated bans will ensure businesses and individuals need to comply.

The reason for this ban is simple - plastic waste has contaminated our world to such a degree that there is now evidence of plastic micro-particles within our food chain.

The plastic products that have been washed into our rivers and oceans have accumulated in huge floating "islands", one of which, in the Pacific Ocean towards the coast of South America, is larger than the state of Texas.

Other plastic "dumps", often in third world countries, are disposed of by burning, sending toxic fumes into the atmosphere, contributing substantially to greenhouse gas emissions and the severe health issues of those countries.
​
As these plastic products are largely an invention of countries in the developed economies of the world, we have a moral responsibility to fix the problem, and this starts with each of us as individuals, modifying our own behaviour.

Benalla Sustainable Future Group is screening the recent documentary Plastic Wars at its next general meeting on Thursday, July 22 at 7.30 pm at the Uniting Church (opposite Coles).

This documentary provides an eye-opening account of how the plastics industry has manipulated legislation in many countries over the past five or six decades, contributing to much of the confusion about the use and recycling of plastic.

There will be an opportunity to discuss the documentary, and we serve a light supper at the conclusion of the meeting.

For those interested in attending, we ask you to rsvp via email at bsfginc@gmail.com
​
If you would like to send a letter to the editor of the Benalla Ensign on this, or any subject, click this link

Dear BSFG Members and Supporters,
 
We would like to invite you to attend our BSFG General Meeting at 7.30pm on Thursday 22nd July at the Benalla Uniting Church.

In keeping with "Plastic Free July" we will be screening the documentary "Plastic Wars". Issues such as clear labelling on packaging for recycling, are raised in this documentary. There will be time for discussion after the film.

A light supper will be served at the conclusion of the evening.

Current covid protocols will be followed. For indoor public gatherings, masks and social distance are needed. Masks can be removed during supper, when we ask people to maintain social distance.

Please RSVP your attendance for Covid numbers to  bsfginc@gmail.com

Please visit News on our BSFG website for more about Plastic Free July. https://www.bsfg.org.au/news


Judy Schwarzman
Secretary BSFG

● Code 3 - Polyvinyl Chloride: PVC includes pipes, toys, packing, etc and can be difficult to recycle and a major health threat - it should never be sent to landfill or placed in your recycle bin. Contact Council for advice on how to dispose of it;

● Code 4 - Low Density Polyethylene: LDPE is the material used to create things like garbage bags, sandwich bags, shopping bags, etc. These kinds of soft plastics are collected in special containers at supermarkets, so do not put them in your own recycle bin;

● Code 5 - Polypropylene: Polypropylene materials can be used to create products like clothing, tubs, ropes or bottles and can be turned into fibres when recycled properly, so they may be placed in your recycle bin;

● Code 6 - Polystyrene: Polystyrene is probably the most difficult plastic product to deal with. It must not be placed in your roadside recycling bin, and because it is manufactured from petroleum, it is a very contaminating product in landfill. It is best to avoid buying products packaged in polystyrene; and

● Code 7- All other plastics: Must not be placed in recycling bins - can include anything from acrylic to nylon

In summary, don't think that plastic is recyclable simply because it has a number inside a triangle.
Generally, codes 1,2 and 5 are okay to recycle, and code 4 needs to go to soft plastics bins at supermarkets, for example.

For all other plastics, you need to check with council to determine the best method to deal with the problem.

To help reduce the plastic recycling conundrum, why not try to avoid buying goods packaged in plastic.
​
During July, think "plastic free", and you might just find it is easier than you thought, and this will go a long way to solving one of our major pollution problems."
​

​Plastic Free July is a 2011 initiative developed by Rebecca Prince-Ruiz, and a small team in local government in Western Australia  It aims to raise awareness of the amount of plastic in our lives by encouraging people to eliminate the use of single-use plastic.  The initiative is a global movement that helps millions of people be a part of the solution to plastic pollution.

The challenge is to refuse single use plastic during July, and once in the habit, continue to do so.
Some of you may think it is difficult to stop using plastic, and it is.  Plastic is ubiquitous and it is made to last a very long time. It is packaged around our food.  There is evidence now to say it has started to become a part of our food. It is in our make-up and personal hygiene products. It is in our clothing.
However, if we put in a little thought and effort, we all can reduce our usage of plastic.

Benalla Sustainable Future Group hopes that the Benalla community can rise to the challenge, and we offer the following ideas to aid people in this endeavour:

• Take your own shopping bag or pack your shopping in a box;
• Either reuse or refuse produce bags. Choose to refuse pre-packed fruit and vegetables, or bring your own reusable netting produce bags;
• Purchase products packaged in cardboard, paper or glass;
• Avoid plastic wrap – use a plate, clean shower cap or fabric covers over your leftovers;
• Store food in glass containers;
• Opt for refills and bulk purchases. Frequent local farmers markets or join the Benalla Bulk Food Co-operative where you can bring your own containers to refill;
• Ask for meat to be wrapped in paper or take your own container to the butchers. Avoid polystyrene trays;
• BYO coffee cup. Support cafes that reduce the price of a takeaway coffee if you BYO or dine-in at your local cafe;
• Refuse plastic straws. If you need a straw, take your own reusable alternative;
• Say no to purchased bottled water. It is so very expensive and totally avoidable;
• Line your rubbish bin with newspaper;
• Use alternative cleaning products such as bicarb soda, clove oil and vinegar;
• Buy ‘experiences’ rather than presents that could end up as landfill;
• Pick up plastic litter;
• Buy clothing made from natural fibres rather than synthetic, and consider op-shopping before a new purchase; and
• Replace disposable nappies with washable cloth nappies.

Continue the challenge if travelling:

• Take your own reusable coffee cup and water bottle;
• Purify suspect local tap water with tablets or a UV water purifier; and
• Take your own snacks, earphones, and reusable cutlery.

​Think- Reduce, Reuse, Refuse, Rethink, Repair.
If we are all a little wiser with our purchases and consumption habits, a cleaner and healthy environment will follow.
Think about changing your relationship with plastics and challenge your consumption patterns. Choose to Refuse.
For more ideas and to accept the Plastic Free July challenge visit this link.
If you would like to send a letter to the editor of the Ensign on this, or any subject, click this link


Simon Ruppert

Plastic Free July is an international initiative developed by a Perth council to raise awareness of the amount of plastic in our lives. The challenge is to refuse single use plastic during July.

Some of you may think it is too difficult to stop using plastic. It is. Plastic is ubiquitous and it is made to last a very long time.  It is packaged around our food. Some would even say it has started to become a part of our food.  It is in our make-up and personal hygiene products. It is in our clothing.

However, if we put in a little thought and effort we all can reduce our usage of plastic. I have been concerned about the impact of plastics on the environment for years.  This concern was heightened on a recent trip to Sri Lanka where I was totally disheartened by the rubbish on the beaches, in the ocean and on the streets. Waste reduction is a global responsibility.

Some ideas to aid in this challenge would be to:

• take your own shopping bag or pack your shopping in a box
• either reuse or refuse produce bags
• purchase products packaged in cardboard, paper or glass
• avoid cling wrap – use a plate, clean shower cap or fabric covers over your leftovers/bowls
• opt for refills and bulk purchases
• ask for meat to be wrapped in paper or take your own container to the butchers
• BYO coffee cup and support cafes that reduce the price of a takeaway coffee if you BYO
• refuse plastic straws
• say ‘NO’ to bottled water
• line your rubbish bin with newspaper
• pick up the plastic litter
• ask yourself if you really need that new piece of clothing – consider clothes swaps with friends or an op shop purchase

Continue the challenge if travelling:

• take your own reusable coffee cup and water bottle
• purify the local tap water with tablets or a UV water purifier
• take your own snacks, earphones, and reusable cutlery

Think- Reduce, Reuse, Refuse, Rethink, Repair.

If we are all a little wiser with our purchases and consumption habits, a cleaner and healthier environment will follow.

For more ideas and to accept the challenge go to www.plasticfreejuly.org

Choose to Refuse.

Source: Baker, W  'Ecoportal'  http://ecoportal.net.au/plastic-free-july/ 21 July 2017
​

We can all do something to refuse single-use plastic - the challenge is quite simple...attempt to refuse single-use plastic during July and be part of the solution to the growing problem of plastic pollution in our environment.

Plastic Free July aims to raise awareness of the amount of single-use disposable plastic in our lives and challenges people to do something about it. You can sign up for a day, a week or the whole month and try to refuse ALL single-use plastic OR try the TOP 4: plastic bags, water bottles, takeaway coffee cups and straws. You can also sign up your business, group or school. There are plenty of ideas on the Plastic Free July website.

Plastic Free July is an initiative of the Western Metropolitan Regional Council (WMRC) in Perth, Western Australia. It was developed by Earth Carers staff and started as a local community initiative in 2011 to educate residents on the important notion of 'reuse'. Last year over 36,000 people from 85 countries joined the challenge.

Every bit of plastic ever made still exists in the earth somewhere. Aside from the negative health impact of food and beverages being stored and cooked in plastic it is estimated that 8 million tonnes of plastic enters the oceans per year where it entangles and is ingested by wildlife. Of the top 10 items found in ocean debris 5 are associated with beverages.  Australians send 1 million tonnes of plastic to landfill each year. Most of our commonly used disposable plastic items are a convenience and in one weekwe go through 10 billion plastic bags worldwide.

Every day we encounter single-use plastic: bags, water bottles. straws, food packaging & takeaway coffee. We can all take steps to avoid plastic becoming a problem. Remember your shopping bags and water bottles; refuse over packaging & choose reusable alternatives and pick up plastic litter. When you sign up Plastic Free July will email you ideas, tips and recipes each week in July. By taking on the challenge, refusing single-use plastic in our own lives we can together make a difference.
​
Source:  Notes provided to John Lloyd by Jenny Geer, BSFG Plastic Bag Action Group