New Year’s resolutions to reduce plastic waste
Environmental advocates are calling for Ballarat residents to make small changes to reduce their plastic waste in 2019.
Sustainability Victoria has suggested setting a goal to reduce reliance on plastic as a New Year’s Resolution.
Single-use plastic items tend to be used for only minutes, yet their impact on the environment can last thousands of years.
More than 8 billion kilograms of plastic waste flows into the oceans every year from coastal regions, according to University of Georgia research.
Data shows more than 40 percent of plastic produced is packaging used once and then discarded.
If a whole lot of people make little changes it adds up to a lot of big changes and they will become a social norm.
La Vergne Lehmann
Grampians Central West Waste and Resource Recovery Group chief executive La Vergne Lehmann says small shifts in behaviour can make a big difference to reverse the tide on our alarming waste problem.
“Last year we saw a really big shift in the community particularly when the two big supermarkets stopped lightweight single use plastic bags from being distributed and around the time of Plastic Free July when we started talking about not just plastic bags but coffee cups, straws, soft drink bottles, cutlery when you get takeaways, chopsticks and sushi soy sauce packages,” she says.
“I think the community have really started to see these things as a problem when we see those moving images of marine life having these things caught up in their bodies because they are consuming it in the oceans. For 2019 though we have to go from being horrified and concerned about those issues to actually making a difference and making those changes in our own way.”
Sustainability Victoria is promoting a new waste slogan, one that Ms Lehmann hopes individuals will take on in 2019; to avoid, reduce, reuse and recycle.
The organisation is encouraging consumers to avoid balloons, coffee cups, plastic bags, straws, disposable dinnerware, single use water bottles and overly packaged items in the supermarket.
A ban on lightweight plastic shopping bags is set to come into place in Victoria by late 2019, as more chain stores are joining to plastic free movement.
IKEA will phase out all single-use plastic in its stores and McDonalds will phase out plastic straws across Australia by 2020.
Ms Lehmann said it was positive to see a shift from recognition of the problem to taking action ‘now’.
“If a whole lot of people make little changes it adds up to a lot of big changes and they will become a social norm,” she said.
“People have gotten used to taking bags with them into the supermarket now. You can take your cup when you get a coffee, not have a straw when you get a drink and have a water bottle with you so you can refill it. I gave all my staff some reusable cutlery during Plastic Free July to carry with them so they don’t have an excuse to get plastic ones with takeaway.”
No Waste Ballarat member Nicole Elliott realises it can be daunting to make change, so encourages people take plastic reduction one step at a time.
She recommends being mindful of what you purchase to replace items with when they break.
Ellen Burns from We Bar None and the Hidden Orchard said when switching your household to plastic free, don’t throw out all your plastic waste and replace it with glass or metal. Instead, use up whatever you have in the house to avoid creating more waste.
If you’re keen to get started, here are some more top tips to avoid plastic waste:
- Shop plastic free by bringing your own containers to the Ballarat Wholefoods Collective, Buninyong Community Collective, Hepburn Wholefoods Collective and Creswick Wholefoods Collective or The Source Bulk Foods Ballarat.
- Wash and keep jars that contain produce from the supermarket, like pasta sauce jars, to be reused for shopping at the zero waste stores.
- Shop plastic free for fresh fruit and vegetables by going to your local greengrocer instead of the supermarket and take your own reusable produce bags.
- Use beeswax wraps and reusable containers to store food and wrap items rather than using plastic wrap.
- Bring your reusable bags when shopping and say no to plastic bags. Don’t forget reusable bags when you’re clothes shopping too – those thick plastic bags are nasty.
- Carry your own reusable water bottle and coffee cup, perhaps even reusable cutlery for when you get takeaway for lunch.
- Say no to plastic straws and instead look to alternative options like reusable glass or metal straws.
- Instead of plastic bin liners, put your rubbish straight into a bin or bucket and clean after emptying.
- Avoid plastic dinnerware when hosting an event and instead use your own cutlery and plates and borrow from family and friends if you don’t have enough.
- Use reusable containers instead of sandwich or freezer bags to transport and store food.
- Take a reusable bread bag when you buy bread from the bakery.
- Swap bottled shampoo and conditioner for shampoo and conditioner bars.
- Swap your plastic toothbrush for a bamboo toothbrush.