Benalla Sustainable Future Group
  • Home
  • ABOUT
    • ABOUT BSFG
    • Advocacy, Education and Lobbying >
      • ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCACY
      • Education
      • Lobbying and Media
    • INTERESTS >
      • Bio-diversity
      • Food and Agriculture >
        • Food & Agriculture
        • Food Co-op
        • Benalla Local Food Network
        • Permaculture and Sustainable Gardening
      • Renewable Energy >
        • Renewable Energy
        • Calculate Your Carbon Footprint
        • Renewable Energy Benalla
        • Benalla Community Energy Project (BCEP)
      • Sustainable Building >
        • Sustainable Building
        • Green Rebuild Toolkit
        • BSFG's Guide to Sustainable Housing
      • TRANSPORT/TRAVEL >
        • Bicycle Action Group
        • Cycling in Benalla
      • Waste/Plastic >
        • Plastic Wise Benalla
        • Single Use Plastics
        • Microfibre shedding
        • Plastic Wise News
    • FUNDING
  • ACTION GROUPS
    • Strategic Objectives
    • Connecting and engaging the community
    • Greening and cooling our Urban Spaces
    • Ecological Sustainable Design and Development*
    • Widespread adoption of sustainable farming systems
    • Waste Wise Benalla
    • BSFG Review - Goals Raw Data
  • Food Co-op
  • REB
  • NEWS
    • News
    • Newsletters >
      • BSFG Newsletter
      • Benalla Permaculture - Feb 2023
    • Hot Topics and Kitchen Table Conversations
    • Light Ideas
    • Gallery
  • JOIN
    • Become a Member
    • Online Membership Form
    • Membership Form
  • Diary
    • BSFG & Food Coop Calendar
    • Environmental Action Days and Events
  • Links
    • BSFG Favourites
    • Catch Up videos
    • Benalla Central Community Garden
    • Benalla Permaculture
    • Bendigo Sustainability Group
    • Climate Ready Hume Newsletter >
      • Late June 2022
      • March 2022
    • Ecoportal
    • Gecko Clan Landcare
    • North East Region Sustainability Alliance (NERSA)
    • Totally Renewable Yackandandah
    • Wangaratta Land Care and Sustainability
  • Contact

'The Five 'R's' to being Waste Wise'

6/3/2023

0 Comments

 
Everything you put into your landfill bin (the one with the red lid) goes into the landfill at our local transfer station. A plastic bottle can take up to 450 years to breakdown in landfill. Nylon clothes can take 40 years, acrylic clothes can take 200 years.
 
Let’s look at some ways to keep as much waste as we can out of landfill, using the 5 ‘R’s. 
 
REFUSE
How to refuse to add to landfill:
  • Rather than buying meat on plastic and foam trays, ask your local butcher if you can bring your own reuseable containers.
  • Shop at a bulk food store or the Food Co-op and bring your own containers.
  • Make your own cleaning products and refill existing containers, there are lots of ideas on the internet.
 
REDUCE
Cut down on the amount of packaging you buy that will go into landfill.
  • Buy bulk quantities of products and dispense into your own containers, for example bulk nuts rather than small individual plastic wrapped packs of nuts.
  • Use a reusable bottle or cup for your hot and cold drinks
  • Take your own bags when shopping.
 
REUSE
There are lots of creative ways you can reuse your waste:
  • Before you put worn out clothes in the landfill bin, can you cut them up for cleaning rags, or use them to stuff a comfy cushion. 
  • Make mini green houses out of clear plastic food containers, like yoghurt or a coke bottle
  • Clean your foil and reuse it next time.
 
RECYCLE
When you are shopping, buy things, and their packaging, that can be recycled, whenever you can:
  • Check labels to see what it says about recycling the item and its packaging.
  • Take a look at the Benalla Council website and waste app for more details of what can be recycled locally.
  • Rinse and dry your recycling before putting it into the recycling bin.
  • Look for less known ways of recycling (eg batteries to Food Co-op), we’ll have more ideas in this column coming up.
 
ROT
Make use of your organics bin or your home compost:
  • Put your waste food into the organics bin or your compost. Food in landfill breaks down into greenhouse gases including methane.
  • Shred up any waste paper and pop it into your organics bin
  • Put any small pieces of paper, tissues, napkins etc directly into your organics bin
  • Remember to put your organics bin out every week, even if there's only a small amount in it. 
Picture
​
Waste Wise Benalla Media Release
Article appeared in the Benalla Ensign on Wednesday 15 February 2023
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    'Waste Wise Benalla'

    A new group which builds upon BSFG's concern about single use plastic waste reflected by the Plastic Wise action group.  Waste Wise Benalla goes further, drawing from a  broader conception of the Circular Economy.

    Links

    National Recycling Week resources from Cleanaway - useful all year round!
    Top One Hundred Single Use Plastic Producers - from Minderoo Foundation

    Contact

    Categories

    All
    Five Rs
    Old Sneakers
    Recycle
    Reduce
    Refuse
    Replas - Recyled Plastic Products
    Reuse
    Rot
    Soft Plastics
    Sportspower

    Archives

    March 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022

    RSS Feed

Picture
Picture
Picture
News Blog
​Gallery
Newsletter
Light Ideas
​Hot Topics
Mailing List
Membership Form

Action Groups
​Benalla Food Cooperative
​Connected, Engaged Community
Ecological Sustainable Design and Development
​Greening  and cooling our urban areas 
​
​
​Renewable Energy Benalla
Sustainable Farming Practices
Waste Wise Benalla

​Donate to Support BSFG
​Benalla Sustainable Future Group acknowledges the traditional owners of the land on which we live, work and meet, the Taungerang and Bpangerang people
​of North East Victoria, and pay our respects to their elders past, present and emerging.