Why live sustainably?



SUSTAINABILITYSustainability is a term we often hear – so what does it mean?Here’s what Sustainability Victoria says:073025Living sustainably is about choices and behaviours, both big and small, that enhance our lives, care for our environment and encourage us to live within our means.?A sustainable community and world is one which supports itself and its surroundings. It is the practice of reducing our impact on the earth's natural resources, reducing our carbon footprint and living healthier lives.?This can be achieved through our approaches to Waste, Energy consumption, Transport and Purchasing.Sustainability also drives creativity and innovation, and the challenge to find new and exciting technologies and solutions to tackle issues and facilitate social change.Why live sustainably?Making choices to live sustainably is an opportunity to:learn about your environmentstay up-to-date with developments in technologysave money and precious finite resourcesconnect with others who are passionate about protecting our natural resources, oceans, wildlife and future generations.Living sustainably will give back far more than the effort you put in. The Earth and future generations will thank you!0Living sustainably is about choices and behaviours, both big and small, that enhance our lives, care for our environment and encourage us to live within our means.?A sustainable community and world is one which supports itself and its surroundings. It is the practice of reducing our impact on the earth's natural resources, reducing our carbon footprint and living healthier lives.?This can be achieved through our approaches to Waste, Energy consumption, Transport and Purchasing.Sustainability also drives creativity and innovation, and the challenge to find new and exciting technologies and solutions to tackle issues and facilitate social change.Why live sustainably?Making choices to live sustainably is an opportunity to:learn about your environmentstay up-to-date with developments in technologysave money and precious finite resourcesconnect with others who are passionate about protecting our natural resources, oceans, wildlife and future generations.Living sustainably will give back far more than the effort you put in. The Earth and future generations will thank you!Last month, I suggested garden members may like to make a list of sustainable activities and focus on one each month in 2018. This is my list and each month I’m going to research and share ideas and learn something new.January – RecyclingFebruary – Make my own month; also Detox your homeMarch – Repair April – Food month May – CompostJune – Consolidation monthJuly - Plastic FreeAugust – Collaborative consumptionSeptember – Natural cleaning productsOctober – Buy nothing new monthNovember – Choose to live with less?stuffDecember – Growing our own; Mulching.JANUARY - RECYCLING I chose recycling this month as I wanted to start the year on a positive note and it’s also often a good time for a cleanout so I wanted to make sure that everything I’m “throwing out” goes to the right place. Of course, if I reduced my consumption, particularly of single-use items then there would be less to recycle, so I’m trying to do that as well.This month, if there is something I’m not sure how to dispose of, then I am going to find out. I’m not just going to guess which bin it should go in, but instead I’m going to ensure it’s disposed of in the correct way so I’m not contaminating the recycling system.I started by looking on the Surf Coast Shire’s website for the list of what goes in our yellow recycle bins:Materials Collected:Glass Bottles and JarsAluminium CansAluminium FoilNewspapersMagazinesOffice PaperEnvelopes Without a WindowEnvelopes With a WindowPhone BooksPizza Boxes (clean)Egg CartonsCardboardSteel Food CansSteel Paint Cans (empty)Steel Aerosol Cans (empty)Aluminium Aerosol Cans (empty)Milk cartons (fresh, no foil lining)Milk cartons (long-life, with foil lining)Juice cartons (fresh, no foil lining)Juice cartons (long-life, with foil lining)Plastic ToysMetal Pots and PansAll plastic bottles and containers Secondly, .au is the place to find the answers to many of our recycling questions.For example, I’m never sure about plastic bottle tops, so I checked this website and here’s what it says – Most councils will ask you to remove the lids from your plastic bottles before you place them in your recycling container, for the following reasons:Plastic bottles must have lids off and be empty because the weight of a half full bottle makes it more difficult for the recyclers automated systems to recognise it as a particular recyclable item.Plastic bottles must have lids off and be empty to prevent the liquid spilling and ruining other recyclable products or damaging the equipment at the recycling centreThe plastic lid is a different type of plastic from the bottlePlastic lids are too small for recyclers to recover with current technologySo now I know - no more plastic bottle tops in the recycle bin!Thirdly, do you use the REDcycle system? It’s a program set up to keep plastic bags and packaging out of landfill. If it’s soft plastic and CAN be scrunched into a ball, it can go into a REDcycle bin. Here’s the list of what they recycle.Biscuit packets (outer wrapper only)Bread bags (without the tie)Bubble wrap (large sheets cut into A3 size pieces)Cereal box linersChip and cracker packets (silver lined)Chocolate and snack bar wrappersCling Wrap - free of food residueConfectionery bagsDry pet food bagsFresh produce bagsFrozen food bagsGreen bags (Polypropylene Bags)Ice cream wrappersLarge sheets of plastic that furniture comes wrapped in (cut into A3 size pieces)Netting produce bags (any metal clips removed)Newspaper and magazine wrapPasta bagsPlastic Australia Post satchelsPlastic carrier bags from all stores?Plastic film wrap from grocery items such as nappies and toilet paperPlastic sachetsPotting mix and compost bags (cut into A3 size pieces and free of as much product as possible)Rice bagsSnap lock bags / zip lock bagsSqueeze pouches with lid onWine bladders - clear plastic ones onlyIf you already use this program, then you’ll probably just want to continue doing what you do. However, if this is new for you, then I have set up a bin in the garden where you can put all your scrunchable plastic, this includes things we use in the garden such as the sugar cane mulch bags. Every so often I’ll arrange for it all to be taken to a drop-off bin. Our nearest one is at Coles in Torquay.Finally, my friends, Kate and Bin, are holding their Annual Garage Sale at 21 Berthon Street on Saturday 27 January, with all money raised being donated to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre. If you are doing any decluttering and have garage sale items, then you might want to donate them to this cause. Contact Kate on 0407 048 421 for drop-off details. ................
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