Over the past decade, there has been an enormous increase in the awareness and effort in recycling, reusing, and sustainability efforts made. More and more of us are drinking coffee from reusable cups, sipping water from aluminum bottles, carrying our shopping in cotton tote bags, and depending on where you live in Australia, there’s a recycling bin for almost every recyclable item.
However, we – as individuals and collectively – can always do more.
Global Recycling Day, on March 18, highlights achievements, challenges, and shares tips to help everyone get involved in recycling. For example, did you know that 700 million tones in CO2 emissions is saved every year through recycling? Or that approximately 1.6 million people across the world are employed in processing recyclables. How the fact that humanity has consumed more resources over the past 50 years than in all previous history?
Recycling is part of the overall fight against climate change and its consequences, and according to Global Recycling Day, it’s projected to save more than one billion tonnes of CO2 emissions by 2030.
However, it’s important to remember that we can’t recycle our way to a healthy planet. We need to use less, buy less, reuse more and be more mindful about our own habits, what we eat, how we travel, and what we wear.
Here’s some things you can do to take your recycling to the next level:
- Learn more about recycling, including what other items you can recycle. There are some unexpected – and even unusual – items you might think can’t be recycled, but actually can be, including blister packs from your medicines (you can drop these off at your local Chemist Warehouse), Lithium batteries (these can be dropped off at dedicated bins at Woolworths and Aldi stores), mattresses (via specialty not-for-profit recycling service Soft Landing, in selected parts of NSW, Victoria, WA and the ACT), and CDs and DVDs (these can go straight into your home recycling bin)
- Take the time to learn about how the recycling process occurs; it’s actually very interesting, and can help motivate people to keep up and even increase their recycling habits. Click here and here for more information
- Share helpful recycling tips and hacks on your social media platforms, encourage your followers to share with their friends and family, and support them in getting involved in recycling
- Make small, but meaningful changes, in your everyday life, such as planning meals in advance so you don’t buy food you won’t end up wasting, learn how to make stock out of food ends
- Get involved in community events, such as clean-up events and local recycling programs, or even create your own
And don’t forget, be kind to the environment by taking your unwanted or expired medications to your local pharmacy and drop it off to their RUM bin for responsible disposal.
For more information about Global Recycling Day, click here.