Don’t be trashy: reuse, repair and recycle instead

Did you know each person on the Northern Beaches generates on average 400 kilos of waste per year?

Who hasn’t been frustrated to see waste clogging up our natural environment? Waste is a huge problem for Sydney, as we are projected to run out of landfill space within 10-15 years. While for a time we may be able to outsource the problem, sending Sydney’s waste to regional areas, or shipping plastic overseas, this is really just treating the problem as ‘out of sight and out of mind’. 

For example, many people are unaware that waste also contributes to climate change – as landfill decays it releases greenhouse gases such as methane. Conversely, our love of new products like fast fashion are burning through natural resources like it’s going out of fashion: it would take 4.5 Earths for every person on Earth to consume resources in line with the Australian lifestyle!

We need a circular economy, where resources are continually reused or recycled into new products, compared to the current ‘linear’ economy where resources are extracted, made into products, then end up in landfill. 

Every year around August is Earth Overshoot Day, where earth’s demand for resources in that year exceeds what the earth can regenerate. From September to December, we’re running on a credit card which we will soon max out. 

I often hear from the community that people are enthusiastic for easy and reliable ways to recycle things like food waste, soft plastics and e-waste. It’s great we live in a community that wants to reduce its waste footprint and be smarter with how we use resources, with so many local groups working on this problem. 

We have local Facebook groups such as ‘Buy Nothing’, ‘Northern Beaches War on Waste’, and ‘Mums Paying it Forward’ where people pass along second-hand items or learn waste elimination tips. 

The Northern Beaches Clean Up Crew and Operation Straw are local powerhouses of mobilising volunteers to clean up litter in our natural environment. The Manly Food Co-Op are the masters of waste free grocery shopping. The Hub at Kimbriki is home to many organisations doing their bit – The Peninsula Senior Citizens Toy Repair Group, Bikes 4 Life who repair and donate used bikes, Boomerang Bags, and Reverse Garbage.  

I’m really excited Council has recently finished drafting a Waste and Circular Economy Strategy to lead our community in eliminating waste and recycling. Developed by staff from hundreds of conversations with locals, and input from the Council’s Environment Strategic Reference Group, the draft strategy recognises we all have a role to play, and responsibility to work together. 

The five priorities are:

1. Eliminating waste – reducing waste generated by households, creating a circular economy
   hub, and creating reuse, repair, recycle network.
2. Easy to use waste service
3. Tackling priority wastes – such as soft plastics and food waste
4. Green and clean environment
5. Council leading the way – being a good example and advocate

I’m particularly passionate to see Council create a circular economy hub, a place to not just help the environment through reuse and recycle, but to connect with other community members around sharing, learning, and creating.