Recycling

There are a few things we can learn from the reduce, reuse, recycle efforts here.

First off. The recycling bin is larger than the trash bin. Hooray. Promoting the right behavior and making the other less-easy.

More people use reusable shopping bags. The cashiers often ask if you want a receipt or need a bag.

If you do end up with a lot of plastic shopping bags, the irony is that you CAN'T put them in the recycling bin. You have to either take them to a specific recycling location (at our library) or put them in the garbage bin (rubbish). I suppose the person below just got sick of keeping these around with good intentions of taking them in to be recycled.

And of course, the public transportation is ACTUALLY USEFUL. It canvases everywhere you need to go, runs at steady intervals, especially at peak travel times, and is less than the cost of buying your own vehicle, filling it with gas, and paying for parking. #getwithitUTA! #UTAisafail

I've been impressed with the reduced packaging options. Spices, baking soda, cake mixes, and sandwich bags all come in very minimal plastic bag packaging. You can even buy refill rolls of plastic wrap to put back in your existing cardboard dispenser.

Millie's school gives rewards to children who bring "rubbish free lunches." So they are motivated to use washable lunch containers and skip the baggies and plastic wrap completely.

I also found a packaging-free kitty litter station! Just bring your own bucket!

The city has an extensive list for residents to help them find the most responsible way to dispose of their items. Everything from asbestos to old x-rays is on the list. And batteries, paint, motor oil, medicine, appliances, light bulbs, shoes. Below are two guides that have the complete list, as well as locations to take your items. I was impressed at how they seem to have thought of everything.

https://www.wyndham.vic.gov.au/waste/directory/directory

Notice that curbside is spelled "kerbside" here.

https://www.wyndham.vic.gov.au/waste/kerbside_collections/services_guide

Melbourne, Australia is the coffee capitol of the world! It's estimated the Australia produces 75,000 tons of coffee grounds in a year. A woman here recently started a business to collect all those coffee grounds and distribute them to community gardens. This keeps the grounds out of the landfills. Brilliant!

The Melbourne Zoo has an ambitious low-waste goal. They also have quite a lot of poop to deal with each day. Here's how they manage it. I bought some of their Zoo Poo last year when I was trying to amend my meager attempt at a garden.

Australia is a beautiful place. It looks like it will be able to stay that way.