Managing waste wisely

7 low waste tips for the New Year

Resolved to reduce your waste in the New Year? Try these simple tips to get your year off to a GREAT low-waste start.

1. Go digital

Avoid the paper clutter and choose to receive your bills, books, magazines and movies online. Reward yourself with a wide variety of free online movies, books and magazines through online subscriptions like BorrowBox, Kanopy, Libby – all you need is your library card!

Download free books, movies or audio books through online subscriptions like kanopy, libby or borrowbox. All you need is your library card.

2. Quit disposables

Disposables are so yesterday daaah-ling! Give up the disposable cup and take a reusable one for your coffee hit. Level up your low-waste picnic with reusable crockery and cutlery instead of disposable items. Visit Plastic Free July for more simple swaps to avoid disposables and single use plastics.

Two people having coffee in reusable coffee cups

3. Buy in bulk

Seek out your closest bulk food store and buy what you can in your own bags and jars. Check out our handy factsheet on how to reduce packaging.

avoid waste by taking your own bags and containers to bulk food stores

4. Make your own

Taking your own lunch to work is a great way to use up leftovers, save money, reduce food waste and reduce food packaging.  What’s not to love?

avoid waste and pack your own lunch for work

5. Embrace reuse

Before buying new or getting rid of the old, consider local reuse and repair options. You can gift, donate, sell, repair or find just about anything with a little know how. And, it’s easy!

fix it and reuse it rather than throwing it away

6. Love your food

Thirty-five percent (35%) of the contents of a general waste bin is unwanted food. This accounts for 5 million tonnes of food wasted, or the equivalent of 9,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools of food waste landfilled each year. Simple tips like menu planning, making a list, sticking to your list, loving your fridge and freezer and eating your leftovers can all reduce the amount of food landfilled each year. And for vegetable scraps that can’t be kept, you can compost it.

love your leftovers by storing them appropriately in your fridge and freezer and use them all up

7. Put your waste in the right place

You can reduce your waste by putting it in the right bins or taking it to the appropriate facilities to be recycled or disposed of safely. Click the Recycle Right A-Z Directory to find out which bin to put it in.

find out which bin to put it in and recycle right
 

More info?

The WMRC also offers workshops, online information, recycling and disposal facilities and events to help you put your waste in the right place! Follow us on socials or subscribe to our Word on Waste newsletter to be kept informed of upcoming events and up-to-date recycling information. You can also call the Recycling Hotline on (08) 9384-6711 for specific waste-related queries.