Reduce your waste
Victoria is working towards shifting to a circular economy to benefit the community, economy and environment. We as individuals can help by reducing the waste we create in the first place.
Here's some local ways you can avoid, reduce, reuse, repurpose, recycle and buy recycled. Let us know other simple and local options and we'll add them to the page.
Avoid
Only buy it if you really need it
Say NO to single-use items
- Plastic bags - carry a reusable bag with you
Plastic bag ban
Better bag habits
Nillumbik Boomerang bags
- Takeaway bottles - use a reusable drink bottle
- Disposable cups - drink your hot drink at the café or use a reusable takeaway cup. Find a Responsible Cafe near you that offers a discount if you bring your own clean reusable cup
- Straws - drink straight from the cup or carry a reusable straw with you
- Balloons - use bubbles, reusable flags or bunting instead of balloons
Reduce
Buy items with less packaging
Choose loose fruit and vegetables over wrapped or shop at local markets
Reduce your food waste at home
Buy electronic household items that are higher in quality and last longer
Put a 'no advertising' sign on your letter box
Reuse
Choose reusable and refillable items over disposable ones
Use reusable containers and cups for takeaway food and drink
- Find businesses that accept reusable containers at Trashless takeaway
- Local social enterprise Green Karma supplies a wide selection of fresh and healthy pre-made meals and offers discounts when customers provide their own reusable containers
- Bridge to Eden Café have no takeaway cups and will lend china cups
- Zen Café in Eltham and Earthbound cafe in Eltham stock beautiful Change Cups created by the local Ceramics Collective
Use bulk purchasing options for shopping by filling a reusable container
Try supplying reusable containers when shopping at the deli and butchers
Switch to milk in returnable glass bottles
Use reusable nappies and sanitary items
Repair broken items rather than replace
Buy, borrow, donate, sell or give away your good quality unwanted household goods or clothes
Repurpose
Make unwanted used or broken items into new things
Contact Edendale Farm – they accept some items that could be used in community art activities
Repurpose old sheets beyond repair by cutting up and using as rags or cleaning cloths
Recycle
Use the kerbside recycling system correctly and make sure there are no recyclable items in your red landfill bin
Recycle all your food waste using a home composting system or your kerbside green bin
Collect any soft plastic packaging and plastic bags and take to Diamond Creek Coles or Eltham Coles and Woolworths
- Visit Redcycle for more drop off locations
Recycle your e-waste (any unwanted item with a plug, cord or battery) at:
Recycle your clothing though various programs
Edendale accepts a range of items for recycling
Visit Going Green Solutions to recycle:
- various items through the Terracycle programs
- old bras through Project Uplift
- mobile phones
- household batteries
- printer cartridges
Look up your item on our A-Z Recycling Guide to make sure you are disposing of it correctly
Buy recycled
Buy items made from recycled materials, such as gifts, copy paper and toilet paper
- Going Green Solutions sells bulk recycled toilet paper, sustainable catering supplies, containers and recycled products
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