Waste Not

Should product companies have to pay for clean-up or be fined if their product or its packaging is found as litter?  Should councils support monthly Clean Out days or Garage Sale Trails?

These were some of the questions raised at the Waste Not film screening and community discussion held late last month.

Waste Not is a short documentary about waste in Sydney, what goes on in landfill and recycling centres, and the actions some individuals are taking to reduce resource use and live more sustainably. The film is a graphic reminder of the enormous volumes of waste our society is producing but also gives hope that through a new way of living, resources will have greater value, will be kept in the 'cycle' and will not simply thrown into landfill in the future.

Jeff Angel from the Total Environment Centre, Michael Mobbs from Sustainable House Chippendale and Sarah Van Erp a local community gardener, composter and waste guru joined us on a panel for the discussion and shared some of their personal experiences and big ideas about waste. Some of the questions the audience asked them like the above ones are interesting to consider.

If companies had to pay for their litter they would start reducing their packaging or taking it back themselves. Could it be enforced though, and does it address our consumer behaviour?

Clean-outs and garage sales are a great opportunity to scavenge the neighbourhood and pick up items no wanted by others, but does it encourage people to throw out more, and what happens at the end of day when items are not picked up? With council offering two “your call” clean up services a year and two clean-out days do we need monthly clean-outs or would it be better for people to make use of “gumtree” or “freecycle”? 

Ever heard of the “3 R’s”, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle?, well local gardener and TV show host Costa introduced two more “R”s and Sarah added another. “Refuse, Rethink and Redistribute”, could Jack Johnson’s Reduce Reuse Recycle song incorporate these…

If you want  National Container Deposit Legislation (get money back for drink containers) click here to learn about the campaign.

...written by Lauren M.