The purpose of Keep Australia Beautiful Week is to encourage Aussies to pick up at least one piece of rubbish each day of the week. The available data shows that roadside litter has remained the main type of litter in Australia and it is highly detrimental to the environment. For the litter in our streets to reduce, everyone has to participate. The local authority, shops, waste contractors, businesses, pubs, travellers and community members have an important role to play.
Keep Australia Beautiful has been working with many travel and community groups throughout the country therefore engaging individuals with their communities and the communities they have been travelling through. We have to work together to make Australia beautiful. This year, Keep Australia Beautiful Week will be held 19 – 25 August.
What you can do to reduce the litter
With several simple adjustments, you will help reduce the amount of litter and waste generated in your area. Apart from benefiting the environment, you will also benefit personally because you will spend a lesser amount on the items that you are likely to buy and dispose of within a short time. You will save on materials for reuse. You can join a group to reduce the litter in your area or do it alone.
Reduce packaging purchases
Buying items in bulk comes with many benefits such as lower pricing and low potential for waste. It costs less to produce a few big packages for larger quantities of products than it might take to produce many small packages for smaller quantities. At times, you will have the chance of providing the packaging. For example, you can take your tote bags to the available bulk bins. Another big benefit is that you will not have to pay for anything or face problems associated with extra packaging.
Extend the service life or reuse
Most single-use containers, including plastic water bottles, are sturdy enough to allow repeated usage. Eventually, the containers will wear out, but their continued usage will postpone the need for their replacement with other containers. At times, repurposed items will eliminate any need for dedicated items. Juice, milk jugs might serve as good watering cans. A plastic grocery bag can replace the trashcan liners. Glass jars featuring screw-top lids will make perfect dry food storage containers. They are rodents and insect resistant too, something that makes them better than the original paper packaging.
Manage your waste streams
Including with the reuse of materials and reduced consumption, you will still generate more and more waste. However, you have the chance of deciding on what will happen to the waste. If you are capable of recycling some materials like plastic, metal and glass, you will divert them from the waste streams heading to the landfills. Some electronics and metals have attractive scrap value that will earn you some more money. Compost any food and yard waste that cannot attract scavenging animals. Before dumping anything, use repurposed bags to secure it. That way, you will reduce the chances of generating litter by preventing the scattering associated with animals and winds.
Participate in other community cleanup events
Perhaps, your community has many volunteer groups ready for service events like litter clean-ups. Mostly, local park or government systems recruit volunteers and you should, therefore, keep checking the local event calendars. Some people choose to enter into volunteer service agreements by which they or groups organise and get the permission to start the cleanup work. You have to start the work prepared with good gloves and sturdy clothing because you will encounter everything – from tyres to gum wrappers. Unfortunately, most of the glass and plastic you encounter will be contaminated with unidentified liquids or dirt and will not be suitable for recycling.
Recycling will reduce the amount of trash in landfills. The number of trips to the garbage dumpsters will be less and you will not have to worry whether the trash from your office or home will fit in your backup bin during the trash day. If you are already conscious of the items to recycle and the ones to throw away, you will manage to sift out recyclables and dump the non-recyclable trash. By reusing some materials, you will reduce the waste in landfills. Recycling also minimises the need for processing and mining to extract new materials to replace the dumped ones.
Paul’s Rubbish Removal is a strong believer in recycling and participating in community cleanup events such as Keep Australia Beautiful. Paul and his team provide assistance to residents and businesses. We’ll come out to your site immediately to quickly load up rubbish and junk for safe disposal.
Contact 0407 125 125 for a free quote on your unwanted junk.
