I’m a keen recycler. And yet sometimes the busy-ness of life takes over, and I’m not entirely vigilant about where the rubbish is going. I don’t stop to look up whether that bit of packaging is recyclable or not. And so I say I’m keen, not perfect.
But it’s true. Every little bit matters.
When all of the millions of people in Australia put an extra bit of recyclable plastic, paper, metal, or glass into landfill, that’s tonnes of material that doesn’t need to be polluting our land.
In National Recycling Week, I’m taking inspiration from conversations in sustainability-focused community groups I’m part of – I feel a growing sense of responsibility. We need to take the time to find the right way to dispose of our waste.
I like that our recycling bin gets full two or three times as often as the waste bin. I feel satisfied that these days I’m reducing, re-using or recycling many more things than I’d previously contributed to landfill.
I can do better. So, this National Recycling Week, I undertake to pay more attention to where my stuff is going after it’s served its useful purpose. Can it be re-used, re-purposed, or finally, recycled?
Ideally I’d rather not have to make that decision. When I’m shopping, can I reduce the potential waste that I acquire at the source? Prevention being far better than cure, I’m shopping waste-free when I can.
I’ll be taking more mindful action when it comes to throwing things out. Taking that one extra moment to be sure I’ve sent things on to the least wasteful pathway.
National Recycling Week – get into it!