A GUIDE TO SUSTAINABLE LIVING IN THE HOME...

BE WASTE-WISE

Up to one-third of the material in your garbage bin could have been (and more importantly still can be recycled. By recycling the average Australian house can save:

• Over 3kg of greenhouse gases like CO 2 that would otherwise contribute to global warming

• Enough electricity to run a 40 watt light bulb for 3 days

• Over 90 litres of water

Although this may seem obvious, the most important part of being waste-wise is reducing the amount of waste you produce in the first place...

THINGS TO DO TODAY

There are many things you can do to cut down on the amount of waste that goes into your bin:

Choose products with less packaging

Put a ' no junk mail ' or similar sign on your letterbox

Hire, share or borrow items you rarely use

Repair items & appliances etc, instead of buying new ones

Buy items in bulk

Buy re-usable items, avoid those designed as disposable (i.e plastic cutlery)

Buy fresh foods more often, and compost the scraps

Grow your own fruit and vegetables

Pass on old clothes to charities

Re-use paper, jars/containers, boxes/cartons for storage

Say to NO to shopping bags at the supermarket, use a re-usable bag

THINGS TO DO TOMORROW

What you can't do today, you can do tomorrow - try some of these:

Set up a compost bin - Use a healthy mix of green and brown wastes

Establish a worm farm - Worms compost food scraps as fertiliser

Plastic bags - Return used bags to the supermarket for recycling

Mobile phones - Return them for recycling at your local retailer

Printer cartridges - Return for recycling, or themk re-filled

FURTHER RESOURCES:

Australia Recycled Clothing Guide

Eco-Recycle Victoria, Home & Community - Making Waste Wise Choices

Planet Ark, Get in the loop and make a difference!

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The Sustainable Living Guide links and information provided have been reproduced with permission from the Manningham City Council - Sustainable Living Guide, 2004.